


Mister R

by orphan_account



Category: Attack on Titan, Shingeki no Kyojin
Genre: Band, Bullying, Crush, Cutting, Depression, F/F, F/M, Friendship, Love, M/M, Modern AU, Music, Smut, Yaoi, ereri, riren - Freeform, school au, student, teacher
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-18
Updated: 2016-03-18
Packaged: 2018-05-27 09:57:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 23
Words: 36,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6280030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren is a Junior at Rose Wall High. Most of his classes are extremely boring. Except for one; History. Why? Because Mr. R is his teacher. On a completely unrelated note, Eren's favorite band is the Recon Core, and the lead singer is called Levi. Eren has a crush on both, but what happens when secrets are revealed?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Friday

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry to interrupt you right before you start reading, but this is a disclaimer. I do not own any characters (except for Hannah and Justice), nor do I own the songs, or Attack on Titan itself. All rights to their respective owners.

Mr. R leans over Eren's desk, his sharp Adam's apple defined by the way his head is tilted to stare into Eren's eyes. Just from the look of those piercing grey eyes staring into his own green eyes, Eren can feel his abdomen heating up.

They are the only two in the classroom. Mr. R parts his lips and leans in towards Eren, who makes no move to get away.

"Brrring!! Brrring!! Brrring!!" Eren's loud alarm screeches from his phone's bright screen.

"Nhg…" Eren grumbles, rolling out of his bed and shutting off his alarm across the small room, only to notice a lump in his lose pajama pants as soon as he stands up.

He tries to forget his perverted dream, and eventually his boner goes away. Eren then gets dressed like normal - well, what has become normal - which compared to last year's outfits is quite nice. Although, of course Eren didn't have Mr. R at that time.

He throws on a grey t-shirt and black skinny jeans, with a heavy blue flannel shirt that he wears like a jacket. Eren rummages through his sock drawer and pulls out a pair of black ankle socks. He stumbles down the hall and into his bathroom to brush his teeth before heading downstairs and making himself a bowl of cereal.

"Someday you'll be late," Mikasa, Eren's adopted sister, tells him.

"Gah! Well, good Friday morning to you, too, Mikasa," Eren says, quieting his outburst so that he doesn't wake his parents.

Mikasa smiles at Eren sweetly from the living room she appeared from. They are in the same grade, so they ride the same bus to the same school, but Mikasa gets up half an hour earlier than Eren. He doesn't ever understand the point.

Eren eats his cereal in silence, and places his empty bowl in the sink. He can't get last night's dream out of his head, or Mr. R for that matter, and his manhood is determined not to let him forget the gentle feeling of Levi's lips on his own and the things that could have led to, had his alarm not so rudely awoken him.

He decides to hide his returning erection by laying his left hand over the bulge in his tight pants.

God, these feelings are so confusing. Eren's thought that he was into girls before, but those "crushes" (if they can even be called that) were nothing compared to what Mr. R, Eren's history teacher, stirs up in him. A complicated mix of emotions, some of which include contentedness, weariness, despair, and elation. These feelings hurt. All Eren wants is to be with Mr. R, but he'll never love Eren as much as Eren loves him. At least, that's what Eren thinks.

"C'mon," Mikasa orders, tossing Eren's heavy backpack to him as though it weighs nothing. She's always working out at the gym or doing sports, so she's super strong.

However, the same cannot be said for Eren; he barely leaves his room on weekends. He doesn't have many friends, and his one friend other than Mikasa is Armin, who comes to to their place for the most part. Once in a while, they hang out at Armin's, but that's usually as far as Eren goes out of his house, besides school. Part of that is because Eren doesn't trust many people, and his quick, fiery temper scares many away. But Eren doesn't even like to leave his room very much, let alone the house.

Eren grabs his favorite pair of worn, jet black high tops and pulls them on, tying them loosely. He pulls his arms through the straps on his backpack and follows Mikasa out the front door, closing it behind him. They walk to the bus stop together, listening to the sounds of people going to work and the animated chattering of animals as they begin their day.

They reach the sign post that is their bus stop, and stand there waiting. Soon, the big mustard yellow school bus pulls up alongside the curb, in front of Eren and Mikasa. The driver opens the doors, and they jump up the steep stairs and onto the bus. Eren takes his usual seat in the middle of the bus, placing his backpack next to him as he stares out of the window, thinking about Mr. R. Mikasa sits two seats behind and across the aisle from Eren. She's always too protective of him.

Yet another reason why Eren and Mr. R can't be together; Mikasa probably wouldn't let him.

Eren spends the entire ride fantasizing and day dreaming about Mr. R, like usual.

The bus slides top a halt in front of the school just as Eren's imagination starts running wild. He keeps remembering his dream, and hopes that Mr. R isn't wearing anything too shapely, today. His usual outfit is a dark suit with a the same black fedora over his prefect, long undercut which is parted in the middle.

Eren marches off of the bus and into school, waving at Mikasa and Armin before heading to his first class; Geometry. This is his Junior year of high school, as Eren often reminds himself.

Yet one more reason that can't be with Mr. R: Eren leaves for college in a year and a half, and besides, he's still at least ten years younger.

Eren walks into Geometry and takes his seat.

He again spends the entire class thinking more of Mr. R and history class than the angles and shapes in front of him. The bell finally rings, and Eren collects his things. Second period gym passes the same way. Finally, Eren gets to third period. He enters the classroom to find Mr. R reading behind his desk. Eren is staring, but he doesn't realize it; the only thing on his mind is his gorgeous teacher with his thin black reading glasses resting on his upturned nose, waiting for the bell to ring again to signal the beginning of class. His fedora rests on a coat hanger beside Mr. R's desk, over his long dark grey coat. Mr. R's feet are up on his desk, crossed. He's wearing a slim fitting black suit, a white Oxford shirt, and a thin black tie.

The bell rings, and Levi sighs before placing his bookmark in to mark his place and setting the thick novel down on his oak desk; the very one from Eren's dream. Eren gulps as he tries to distract himself, but he can't help letting his eyes wander down his teacher's slim form as he stands.

"Who's missing?" Mr. R asks.

"Sasha Braus, sir," her boyfriend Connie says.

"She's probably in the cafeteria stealing some food again," Mr. R sighs.

The entire class laughs, but Eren a little harder than some, earning a few glances from some of his classmates.

"Let's start today's lesson," Mr. R demands, taking off his glasses and carefully folding them before placing them atop the novel he had been reading before class started.

He starts talking about Napoleon, and one of the students raises her hand.

"Yes, Petra?" Mr. R asks. Everyone knows that she's his favorite student, probably just because she's the only person in all of Rose Wall High who is shorter than him.

Still, though, Eren hates her for it.

"Was he a bit like you, then? At least in height?" she asks.

"Actually, Napoleon was about average height. French measurements at the time were not very accurate. But in terms of the need for power and inability to accept defeat, yes," Mr. R answers, completely deadpan.

Eren grins, though.

'So, he'd want to top, then? That's fine with me. Wait, what am I talking about? I'd never get to be with him, let alone get to fuck him. I don't even know what he's like as a person,' Eren thinks, his smile fading.

Mr. R finishes today's lesson exactly three minutes before the bell; he always does. All Eren does after Mr. R stops talking loud enough for Eren to hear his sexy, gruff voice, is to sit in his desk, staring. Good God, that perfect man is too amazing…

Not to mention, the lead singer of Eren's favorite band looks a lot like Mr. R, just younger, and slightly less... teacher-y. Although, he's not any less sexy. Thinking of which, Eren has tickets to go see them tomorrow, Saturday night, at a local club. The only reason why he's allowed inside is because Mikasa's boyfriend is a bartender there, and he's grateful to Eren for not trying to stop them from being together; not like he could, even if he wanted to.

Eren's seen The Recon Core perform many times, and every time he's seen the lead singer, Levi, he's fallen in love a little. He always has a ton of piercings, and awesome tattoos on his neck and muscled abdomen that he pulls off surprisingly well. He covers his eyes with a white bandage, as do his bandmates, Erwin, Hanji, Mike, and Oluo, while they perform.

The school bell startles Eren out of his thoughts, and his day continues as normal.

~+~+~+~

The final bell eventually rings, and Eren hops on the bus home while Mikasa stays at school for basketball practice.

As soon as Eren unlocks his front door and steps into his house, he rushes up to his room, saying hello to his mother before closing his bedroom door. He drops his backpack in the corner of his room and opens his computer. He pulls up The Recon Core's website to double check the date and time of the concert. He plans on showing up an hour early to get a decent spot, and hopefully to get a glimpse of the actual band before they put on their performance outfits.

Eren takes a CD out of a bookshelf, and he pops it into the slot on the side of his laptop. His favorite album by The Recon Core starts playing throughout Eren's room. The beat pumps through his body, and Eren starts dancing, closing the blinds before he does so. He can dance amazingly, but he's very self-conscious about it. Not even Mikasa knows. Come to think of it, there's a lot she doesn't know about him, really.

Eren opens his large closet to pick out clothes for tomorrow, eventually deciding on pseudo-leather pants and a black and white Recon Core short-sleeved shirt. He can't decide between a black jacket or his dark green cloak with the Recon Core logo on the back, so he decides to bring both. It's the middle of February, so it'll be cold enough.

Mikasa gets dropped off by her friend two hours later, and their Dad comes home at five. Mom cooks dinner, and calls Eren down. He barely hears her over the music, but he pauses it and runs downstairs.

He eats spaghetti with his family, trading how their days went. Eren's mother decides to mention the fact that if Eren meets a girl who he likes at the concert, not to do anything unsafe.

Eren hangs his head in embarrassment, his face turning crimson.

"Your mother's right, Eren," his father claims. "I've treated many people with STDs, and they are horrible. That is, the diseases."

"Okay, okay, I get it, now can we please finish dinner?" Eren exclaims, blushing furiously.

The only person at the concert Eren will ever want to fuck is Levi. Though of course he'll never get to.

After dinner, Eren goes back up to his room and starts playing his music again; it's Mikasa's turn to run the dishwasher, so he gets a little bit of free time. He pulls his school binder out of his backpack and starts on his homework. He doesn't want to have a ton of it to do on Sunday, and tomorrow he knows that he'll be too preoccupied with the concert to do it. So, he writes a short summary on Napoleon for Mr. R, and and finishes his Geometry worksheet. He reads for a half an hour to help get his reading for Language Arts out of the way. He finishes his homework off with a German I worksheet.

Finally, Eren is finished with his homework, so he goes downstairs and eats a bowl of ice cream before going back up again.

Once he is safely back in his room, Eren carefully closes his door and pulls a small black moleskin notebook out of his desk drawer. He opens it to the next blank page and starts drawing. This is another one of Eren's hidden talents, although Mikasa does know that he can draw.

He finishes the sketch and leans back to inspect his handiwork. On his paper is Mr. R, shirt open around his shoulders, belt unbuckled, lying on his side on top of his big oak desk. Eren leans away and pulls his colored pencils out of the other drawer. He starts coloring and shading, taking care to color evenly and inside the lines.

Eren hears a knock on his door, and he hurriedly closes his notebook and slams it back into the drawer along with the colored pencils.

"Come in," Eren tells whoever is on the other side of the door.

"Eren, it's time for bed, sweetie," his mom tells him.

"Oh, right," Eren answers.

His mom leaves, but not before glancing at Eren's desk, which he was leaning against suspiciously. Mrs. Jaeger closes Eren's door, leaving it open just a crack.

Eren gets up and pulls his pajamas from his closet before heading to the bathroom to shower. Once he's in the small tiled room, he turns on the hot water and takes off his clothes. His thin body exposed, Eren steps into the scalding hot water and adds just enough cold for him to be able to stand it. He is about to start cleaning himself, but an image of Levi pops into his head and his member springs to action. Eren checks the door and steps back into the shower. He places his hand on himself and starts pumping.

Afterwards, Eren cleans himself off and shuts off the water. He pulls a fluffy white towel from the cabinet under the sink and dries himself off. Then he puts on his pajamas and heads back into his room. He drops his dirty underwear and socks into his laundry basket, but then he sniffs his clothes and deems them clean enough. He folds them and places them back in his closet.

He goes back into the bathroom to brush his teeth, and once he does so, he crashes on his bed and snuggles himself into the covers. He falls asleep quickly, not having realized before how tired he is.


	2. Saturday and The Recon Core

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren goes to the concert and one secret is revealed.

Eren is at the concert. He is dancing in the front row to the music, and everyone is looking at him, some people even trying to copy his epic dance moves. Levi reaches a hand down to Eren from atop the stage, and pulls him up. They start dancing together, singing to the music.

Then, Eren opens his eyes.

Sunlight is shining through the cracks between Eren's blinds, and he tries to fall back asleep to get back to his dream. Sadly, he can't.

Eren reluctantly drags himself out of his bed and checks his phone; no new notifications. There never are.

He pulls on a dark pair of jeans and a blue shirt. He doesn't want to get his clothes for the concert dirty while he does his chores. Eren goes back over to his bed and makes it messily, not bothering to tuck the sheets under the mattress.

He leaves his room and walks downstairs. He eats his usual bowl of cereal and sits down in front of the TV with Mikasa.

"Morning," Eren grumbles.

"Hello, Eren," she replies.

"So what're our orders for today?" Eren asks.

"You're on lawn duty and cat litter. I've got the kitchen and the upstairs bathroom. You also have the downstairs one," Mikasa tells him.

"Alright, sounds good," Eren replies.

He plans on cleaning the cat litter up first, followed by the bathroom. After those, he'll mow the lawn. For now, though, he's just going to watch TV with Mikasa.

"Good morning, kids!" Mrs. Jaeger beams, coming down the stairs with a smile on her face. Carla Jaeger is the only morning person in this entire house, and no one knows how she does it.

Following her down is Grisha Jaeger, Eren's dad. Mikasa's parents were murdered in front of her when she was young, and the men who did it then tried to kidnap her. Luckily, Eren's Dad had been coming to do a checkup that day on their family, and he had brought Eren along to meet Mikasa. However, when Grisha saw what had happened, he ordered Eren to stay put. However, Eren chose not to, and he went into the cabin that the kidnappers were hiding in. He killed two of them, and was being choked by the third one, when Mikasa stabbed in the back.

Everyone at school knows the story, so everyone is scared of them at least to some degree. Not to mention the fact that Mikasa is super strong, smart, and beautiful.

While she's popular, Eren is notorious throughout the school.

Eren gets up and starts his chores. When they're finally finished, he stores the lawn mower in the garage and comes back into the house. He checks the time; 4:27 in the afternoon. He's got about one and a half before he has to get ready for the concert, two hours before he has to leave. The performance starts at 8:00, but Eren wants to get a decent seat. Mikasa is going to drive him to the club. Eren's parents don't trust him with a car of his own, yet.

Eren listens to music for the next hour, purposely avoiding anything by The Recon Core so that he can enjoy all of their songs and make the concert more special. Half of what they do are covers, but they have plenty of original songs.

Eren's Dad yells his name from the living room. Eren pauses his music and yells "What?" down stairs.

No answer.

"What is it, Dad?"

Again, no answer.

With a groan, Eren walks out of his room and heads downstairs.

"Yes?" he asks, arriving in the living room.

"Your mother made dinner," Grisha informs him.

"Okay, thanks," Eren responds.

He leaves the living room and walks into the kitchen. Mikasa is already there, getting a bowl of Eren's favorite food; his mother's chili. Eren's eyes light up when he sees it. He grabs a bowl out of the cabinet and fills it with delicious red chili. He sprinkles cornbread on top and sticks a spoon in. He drips a few drops of hot sauce into the bowl in front of him. Eren brings it to the dinner table and eats across from his sister.

"So, how long have you liked Mr. R?" she asks in a low tone, so that their parents won't hear.

Eren nearly chokes on a mouthful of chili.

"What?!" he splutters.

"You aren't exactly subtle; Jean told me," Mikasa claims.

"You had him spy on me?!" Eren asks, flustered.

"No. He told me yesterday in hopes that he'd get me to like him more. I decided to ask you about it at dinner today, and your reaction just proves that he was telling the truth. So, how long have you liked him?" Mikasa repeats.

"Uh, well, for a while, I guess," Eren stammers nervously.

"Like since you first met him a while, or what?" Mikasa questions.

"…Yeah," Eren reluctantly answers.

Mikasa smiles. "Why don't you go after him?"

"Because he's like forty, a guy, and not to mention the fact that Mom and Dad would never allow it." 'Or you,' Eren mentally adds.

"Okay, first of all, he's 34. Secondly, I don't care if you're gay. To be honest, I could tell since the fifth grade. Third, Mom and Dad won't care. And so what if they did? They can't stop you two from being together," Mikasa states.

"Well... I guess so," Eren replies. "But what about you? Wouldn’t it be weird for your brother to be dating your history teacher?"

"Well, of course it would. But who am I to stand in the way of your happiness?" she answers.

"Thank you, Mikasa," Eren says with a smile.

They finish their meal without speaking much more. At 5:32 they clean up their dishes. Perfect timing.

Eren goes upstairs and walks into the freshly cleaned bathroom to take a shower. Once he gets out, he actually attempts to tame his unruly brown hair, to little avail.

He walks back to his room with a towel around his waist. He closes his door, and drops his towel into his laundry basket. He pulls on a fresh pair of boxers, and then his RC t-shirt. He pulls on his pseudo-leather pants and throws a black jacket over it. As a final touch, he throws his Recon Core dark green cloak around his shoulders, fastening it at the neck.

"C'mon, Eren, let's go!" Mikasa shouts.

Eren runs down the stairs towards the front hall, passing his mother on the way.

"You know I hate those pants," she quietly remarks.

Eren ignores her and pulls his high tops on. He throws a hurried goodbye over his shoulder before closing the door, receiving a quick, "Have fun, Eren!" from his mother and a "See you later, son," from his dad.

"Woo, let's go!" Eren shouts, stepping up into the passenger side of Mikasa's red and black jeep.

Mikasa laughs.

"Alright," she says.

She inserts the key into the slot and turns it. The engine starts and they drive to the club. They pull up in front of it at 7:04 at night. We park on the curb and step up to the bouncer. He recognizes Mikasa, but asks her about Eren.

"This is my brother," she tells him. "He's here to see The Recon Core; especially Levi."

"Oh, I get it. Go on in, and have fun tonight, kid," the tall, burly man says.

"Thank you, sir!" Eren pipes up happily.

He follows Mikasa into the nightclub and they meet up with Justice, her boyfriend, at the bar.

"Hey babe," he calls to Mikasa when he sees her.

"Hello," she replies.

"You look hot and badass, as always," Justice tells her, kissing her on the cheek.

And she does. She's wearing a dark red tank top under a black leather jacket with dark blue skinny jeans and black motorcycle boots. Her dark hair brushes her shoulders in a cute bob.

Finally, Justice acknowledges Eren's presence.

"And how're you, little punk?" Justice asks.

"Oh, I'm great," Eren beams, "I'm super excited for the concert. How about you?"

"I'm fine," Justice laughs.

"I'm gonna go get a seat," Eren claims before running off to a spot right in front of the stage. The club is starting to fill up.

Mikasa and Justice share a glance and continue taking as he serves customers.

Eren doesn't have to wait long before some sounds and rustling start being heard behind the curtains. In a few minutes, the lights dim, and a voice starts speaking over the last whispers of the club-goers.

"Tonight, just like every other Saturday night, your local punk rock band, The Recon Core, will be performing live for your entertainment!" Justice’s boss says over the intercom. "Now give it up for The Recon Core!!!"

The crowd cheers and the curtains open to reveal The Recon Core standing there, ready to perform. Eren's heart skips a beat as Levi is revealed, standing behind the mic ready to perform.

His tight white pants outline his thin hips, and his high brown boots reach just above his knees, his left foot taping to the drum beat as it starts. He's wearing a white button-up shirt tucked in, with a white cravat around the neck, and brown leather belts lace across his chest and legs. He wears a brown leather jacket with a blocky wing pattern on the arm, left breast pocket, and back. Part of why Eren loves The Recon Core's performances so much is because usually by the end, Levi usually ends up taking off his jacket and his cravat and unbuttoning the top couple of buttons on his shirt.

Levi's eyes are covered with a bandage, as are the rest of the band's. Levi starts singing, and his deep voice pierces the whispers of the crowd as the music begins.

"Oh, I miss the misery," Levi screams, leaning on to the mic.

The original song, by Halestorm, is sung by a woman. Levi sings it an octave lower than her, which is incredibly sexy.

The instruments start playing a heavy, fast beat, the guitar cranking out strong chords.

"Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh" is repeated a few times, before Levi kicks into the actual song.

"I've been a mess since you stayed.  
I've been a wreck since you cha-anged!  
Don't let me get in your way.  
I miss the lies and the pain,  
the fights that keep us awake, ake, ake, I'm telling you!  
I miss the bad things!  
The way you hate me!  
I miss the screaming, the way that you blame me!" Levi sings.

His gruff voice, his shifting hips, his leg tapping, the way the lighting outlines the details in his clothes and everywhere else; it all gets Eren's heart pumping.

Soon Levi starts with the third chorus, and whips off his cravat, tossing it into the crowd. Eren gladly catches it, protecting it from the thief who tries to grab it out of his hands.

"I miss the rough sex!  
Leaves me a mess!  
I miss the feeling of pains in my chest!"

These lyrics bring Eren's mind back to a fantasy he created a while ago, and heat rises in his cheeks as he tries to divert his thoughts. Mikasa notices from across the club, and smiles slightly.

"I Miss The Misery" ends, and The Recon Core start one of their original songs.

This song is amazing too, and ends with Levi's jacket on the side of the stage and the top two buttons of his shirt open, some of his black inky tattoos barely visible on his collar bone.

At the end of the song, he rolls up his sleeves, exposing more intricate and beautiful tattoos on his arms, earning a whoop from some crowd members. Levi smirks at this.

The RC start their third song, then their last. At the end of the concert, Levi thanks the crowd and then asks, "Whoever caught my cravat; would you please come backstage? Thank you."

Eren stares at Levi, dumbfounded. The crowd begins to leave, and Mikasa walks over to him.

"You caught his cravat, didn't you?" she asks.

"Yes…" Eren replies.

"So go backstage!" she orders.

Eren hurries back to the door by the bar that has, "employees only" printed on it.

He finds the backstage area and freezes when he sees Levi standing in front of a locker, shirtless, facing away from the door and talking to Erwin, a tall, blond man with eyebrows like caterpillars. Levi's tattoos are exposed along his back, the Wings of Freedom that are The Recon Core's logo inked from his shoulder blades to just below Levi's waistline.

"Levi, looks like your little cadet is here to return your cravat," Erwin says, nodding towards Eren.

Recon Core fans are sometimes called "cadets".

"Finally; I was starting to wonder if I'd ever get it ba-" Levi cuts himself short (pun intended) as he turns around.

He is no longer wearing his eye bandages, and Mr. R's piercing grey eyes gaze apprehensively at Eren. Suddenly, Eren finds his legs wobbly and his head light. He falls to the floor and blacks out. The realization that his favorite teacher is also his favorite singer would've been enough to make him faint on its own, but combined with seeing his muscular and tattooed chest and powerful abdomen, Eren's senses are far too overloaded.

He wakes up to Mikasa and Mr. R's voice calling Eren's name as he lies on a cold surface.

"Eren? Eren! Wake up!" they're saying.

"Where am I? Am I late for school?" Eren asks, immediately assuming that it was all a dream.

But then he stands and takes a look around him and sees Mr. R shirtless again. Eren has to sit back down.

"Oh, fuck," Eren says, looking at Levi's body, eyes unable to stop wandering.

He notices two scars under the older man's pectorals.

"Language, Eren!" Mikasa scolds.

"I take it you know each other?" Hanji asks.

"Yes. This is Eren, my student," Levi answers, not taking his eyes off Eren.

"Damn," Eren swears.

"Ehem, Mr. R, could you please put a shirt on?" Mikasa asks, having noticed Eren's obvious boner.

"Of course," Levi answers, throwing his performance shirt around his shoulders and buttoning it up again.

"So how fucked up is our teacher-student relationship?" Eren asks.

"Pretty fucked," Levi admits.

Eren nods and wills his erection away.

"Well, here's your cravat," Eren says, handing it over without looking Mr. R - Levi - in the eye.

"Thanks."

"Um, yeah, well, I guess I'll see you at school?" Eren inquires.

"I guess. But, one thing before you go; please don't tell any of the other students. I kind of like over hearing them talk about our band," Mr. R tells Eren and Mikasa.

"O-okay," Eren stammers, knowing full well that he'd been one of those students.

"We won't," Mikasa promises.

She pulls Eren up by the arm and drags him outside. Eren sneaks a glance back at Levi to notice a touch of… is it loneliness? In Levi's eyes, as they stare after him.


	3. A Notebook and it's Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren's parents find his sketchbook.

"What is this?!" Eren's mother asks him furiously, when he gets home with Mikasa.

She's holding up Eren's sketchbook.

Eren winces. "It's a notebook."

"Son, please explain yourself. We are perfectly fine with you being homosexual, but we would've liked you to have told us," Grisha adds.

"Well, um, I might be gay?" Eren answers, noticing Mikasa sneaking upstairs.

"Come here, Eren," Eren's mother tells him.

He sits on the couch next to her.

"Who is this?" she asks, opening to Eren's personal favorite drawing of Levi singing, his eyes bandaged and his shirt open all the way and flying back behind him.

"That's Levi," Eren answers truthfully, still shocked at Mr. R's alternate identity.

"Who is Levi?" Eren's dad asks. "Is he your boyfriend?"

"I wish..." Eren mutters under his breath, but answers, "No."

"Then who is he?" Carla asks.

"He's the lead singer from The Recon Core," Eren tells them.

"I feel like I've seen him before, though," Grisha says.

"Well, yeah... You met him once..." Eren tells him reluctantly.

"When?"

"Teacher/student conferences," Eren murmurs.

"What?" Carla asks.

"Teacher/student conferences," Eren says louder.

"So he's... Also one of your teachers?" his father inquires hesitantly.

"…Yes."

"I see. Well, you can take your notebook back and go to bed," Eren's dad tells him, handing him back the journal.

"Uh, thanks," Eren says, taking the notebook and running upstairs before his parents can call him back.

Gasping for breath, Eren leans against his door as it slams shut. His mind is racing. Mr. R is Levi? Levi is Mr. R?! And he's so hot... And I got a boner in front of him... And I fainted. And I caught his cravat! I had to return it, since Levi didn't mean to throw it into the crowd, but still. I touched something that had touched him, and it had still been warm. His teacher, who looks about 40 at school, is the same person who looks 20 on stage. Even if he's really 34, like Mikasa says. And then there was the way he looked at me as Mikasa dragged me away... Almost as if he was sad to see me go...

Eren collapses on his large bed, holding the notebook close to him.

'Damn,' he thinks. 'Who would've suspected that this little notebook could have caused me to have to come out to my parents before I have even come out to myself?'

Eren's door opens and Mikasa sits down next to him.

"So, they obviously didn't kill you," she says.

"No. But they found my notebook," Eren says, holding it up.

Mikasa gently takes it from him and flips through it. She lets out a low whistle.

"Wow, I didn't know you were this good of an artist," she claims, emphasizing "this" and staring at one of Eren's most recent drawings of Levi, leaning against a wall.

"Thanks," Eren replies, taking his journal back as Mikasa hands it to him.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow," she tells him as she stands, ruffling Eren's hair before she goes.

"Yeah, good night," Eren says, watching as Mikasa closes the door behind her.

He gets up and takes off his clothes, folding them and putting them back in his closet before pulling on his pajama pants; he doesn't feel like sleeping in a shirt tonight.

He walks over to his desk and takes out his colored pencils. Eren sits in his chair and lays his notebook in front of him. He pulls out a regular Number 2 pencil and starts to draw the outline. Once that's finished, Eren fills in the details. Then he sets down that pencil and starts to color his drawing. Finally, Eren adds shading, and a very realistic drawing of Mr. R without his shirt on, in front of a background of the dark backstage of the club, is on a fresh page of Eren's notebook.

He puts his notebook back in his desk drawer, along with the rest of his drawing materials. He notices that one of his pens are gone, which is probably how his parents found the notebook. They must have needed a pen and not been able to find one downstairs, so his Mom probably took one from Eren's room. She saw the notebook, and flipped through it, then showed it to Eren's father.

Eren can't help but assume that he could've avoided everything had he found a better hiding place for the little black notebook.

Eren brushes his teeth and goes to bed with this negative message in his head.


	4. The Gym

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikasa gets upset at Eren for being a shy little bish.

Eren wakes up to find sticky sheets, yet again.

Last night's dream was amazing; probably a little too much so, to some people.

Eren slides out of bed and changes his clothes. He pulls the sheets off his bed and tosses them into his laundry hamper. He then put fresh sheets from his closet down. After that, Eren collects a few dirty articles of clothing from the ground and throws them in after the sheets. Then, he picks up the basket and takes it downstairs. He dumps his dirty laundry into the washer and starts it before anyone can see the wet spots on Eren's sheets. Then he leaves the laundry room and heads into the kitchen, where his mother is making pancakes, Mikasa at her side.

"So, how did you sleep, honey?" Carla Jaeger asks.

"Great," Eren smiles.

"Oh? What made it great?" Mikasa inquires.

"Ehem, nothing much," Eren replies nervously, his eyes shifting to the floor as he brings his hand up to rub his hair.

"Leave him alone," Grisha orders. "I'm sure he just had a nice dream last night, considering the fact that he did his laundry right away this morning, and what happened to him at last night's concert."

"You told them?!" Eren rages at Mikasa.

"Well, I had to," she claims.

"No you didn't! It was bad enough that they found my journal! And because of that, you've all figured out that I'm gay!" Eren rants.

"Well, we didn't exactly figure it out because of that," their Mom says.

"Wait, what?" Eren asks.

"It was pretty obvious, son," their father tells him.

"…Really?" Eren asks, discouraged.

"Yeah," Mikasa replies.

"But we accept you, and love you all the same," his Mom interrupts.

"Oh. Well thanks," Eren says. "Would you mind... not telling anyone else?"

"No, not at all," Carla claims, cheerily.

"Thanks," Eren says.

He takes a plate full of pancakes and slathers butter over them. Then he pours syrup onto the steaming pile, and an image from last night's dream intrudes into his mind. He slams the syrup back on the table in anger at himself, and at Levi/Mr. R. That perfect bastard just has to tease Eren so much, doesn't he? He doesn't realize how much he's screwing with the Eren's emotions.

"Are you alright, Eren?" Mikasa asks from across the table.

"I'm fine," he growls in reply.

"I'm going to go to the gym after breakfast, today; do you want to join me?" Mikasa asks.

"Sure, why not," Eren responds, looking back down at his plate and taking a bite.

"Really? Great!" Mikasa says.

Eren rarely leaves the house on weekends; Mikasa wonders of he's feeling okay today. She's is determined to find out exactly what's wrong, but decides to wait.

They finish their meal, and both pack a bag for the gym. They leave together, saying goodbye to their patents before they go. They hop into Mikasa's jeep and she drives them to the gym.

They pull up, and Eren notices a Black Lexus in the parking lot. That's the same type of car that Mr. R has. Eren only knows this because he once saw Mr. R getting into his car after school ended on a Friday.

'But he can't be here, can he?' Eren thinks.

They walk into the gym and use Mikasa's membership to get both of them in. They head to the locker rooms of their respective genders, and change. Mikasa comes out in a white sports bra and black gym shorts. Eren is slightly more modest, wearing a dark tank top and loose grey shorts. He feels exposed, having his bare arms and legs on display for whoever cares to look.

"So why are you here with me?" Mikasa finally asks.

"What? Why wouldn't I be here? I want to work out," Eren replies defensively.

"Okay. Well, you do your thing; I'll be around," Mikasa tells him, walking away and grabbing a towel off a shelf as she passes it.

"Right..."

Eren grabs a towel, too, but goes towards a stationary bike. It is in front of windows that look down onto the pool, and the first thing Eren thinks is 'the perfect place for a pedophile.' Unfortunately, this is the only place where there is an open bike. Eren's deciding to start out easy.

Just as Eren really gets into a groove, he notices a man in the pool with a very nice body. As Eren looks closer, he notices some familiar tattoos on this this guy's back, and a familiar dark brown undercut. Eren's breath catches, and his foot slips off a pedal. The sharp edge grazes his calf, cutting him. His eyes wrench away from the beautiful guy's sloping muscles and dripping wet body to watch a drop off blood sliding down his leg.

"Gah!" he yells.

A few nearby people look over curiously, but Eren's outburst was more in frustration than pain.

He uses the towel he grabbed earlier and stops the bleeding. He walks to the bathroom slowly, and washes off the cut with a damp paper towel. Luckily, the machine was clean, and so is the cut, which means that Eren is fine. Once the gash is clean, Eren walks back into the main exercise room. He sits down at a machine to work out his arms. He pulls the bar of the machine down, then adjusts the weight so that it is still a workout, but not too strenuous of one.

Eren leans into the workout, forcing his muscles to do what he wants them to. He switches between machines until Mikasa eventually comes to get him. He's worked up a sweat, and he's ready to go. They each go back to their individual locker rooms again. Eren steps inside and hears the sounds of water in the showers running, men talking, and lockers being opened and slammed closed.

Eren walks towards the showers, barely noticing his surroundings. On his way, he grabs a towel from another shelf, dropping the dirty one he had into a bin beneath it.

Eren steps into an empty shower, and hangs his towel on a hook beside the yellow curtain. He closes the yellow curtain and strips, dropping his clothes into a pile outside. Eren turns on the water, and its immediate heat surprises him. So much so that he gasps. Eren scowls, and turns the dial to a cooler temperature.

Suddenly, he notices a man outside the curtain. The crack between it and the wall is thin, but there nonetheless. The man opens the shower next to the one Eren is in, and he hears him turning on his own shower. Eren washes himself, and eventually turns off his water. Soon afterwards, the man in the second stall does too. Eren dries himself off with his towel, and wraps it around his waist. He pulls his curtain aside, and steps out into the cold air. Droplets of water drip from his hair as he leans down and picks up his pile of dirty clothes.

But then the man in the other shower comes out, and Eren gasps again. It is Mr. R; Levi, standing in front of Eren, dripping wet, and wearing nothing but a towel held in place around his waist by his left hand.

Dear God, that's sexy...

But Eren runs away, back to his locker, before the flow of his blood can give him away. He gets dressed in record time, and sprints out of the locker room, slinging his backpack onto his shoulders as he runs. Mikasa stands up from the bench where she's been waiting, when she sees Eren running out of the men's locker room with a look of panic on his face.

"Eren, what's wrong?" she asks worriedly.

"I'll explain later. We've got to go," Eren states.

Mikasa follows her brother back to her car, and they get in. On the drive home, Eren explains what happened.

"Idiot! Why didn't you make a move?" she yells at him.

"I didn't know what to do!" Eren claims.

Mikasa shoots Eren a glare out of the corner of her eye, but says nothing. They don't say another word until they get home, and that is a curt, "You should probably change your laundry," from Mikasa.


	5. Monday and Phones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about this, but it's a short-ish fic, so yeah, they start dating. Sort of. I don't even know, they just exchange phone numbers, okay? Thanks for continuing to read this!

Monday morning, Eren doesn't recall having dreamt at all. He gets out of bed and gets ready for the day, putting on a pair of dark, boot-cut jeans, as well as a striped low-cut tee. He ties a black jacket around his waist, and eats his usual breakfast of cereal. Mikasa decides to drive them to school today, because there is, "something she wants to do when they get there."

She pulls up into the student parking lot, and locks her car before heading inside the building, dragging Eren with her. She marches him down familiar hallways towards what is usually Eren's favorite classroom. The crowds of people part as they see her coming, yanking Eren by the arm behind her.

She raps her knuckles on the door of Mr. R's room, and it swing open silently to reveal his slender and thin form.

"Oh," he says when he sees them. "Come on in."

"Thank you sir," Mikasa says, dragging a reluctant Eren into the classroom with her.

"What is it, Ackerman? Jaeger?" Mr. R asks.

"Eren has something to tell you, sir, which you probably have already guessed, based on the way he's been acting towards you," Mikasa claims.

"I see," Mr. R answers.

"Eren," Mikasa growls at him, prompting him - no, terrifying him - into talking.

"Ehem, yeah. Mr. R, I'd like to..." Eren sighs before continuing. "I like you. And, well, I'd really like to, um, be with you, but of course that's never going to happen, so-"

"Says who?" Mr. R interrupts.

Eren looks startled.

"Well, I just don't think you like me back," Eren states.

"I see. Is that all you needed to tell me?" Mr. R asks.

"...Yes," Eren says.

A student tries the door to Mr. R's room, but it automatically locked on the outside when it closed. The handle jiggles for a second, but then sits still.

"I'm assuming that you didn't know I'm gay, too?" Mr. R asks.

"What?!" Eren and Mikasa exclaim simultaneously.

"So no," Mr. R says.

He turns away from them and shuffles some papers into a perfect pile on his desk. Mikasa and Eren stare at him as he picks up a travel mug by the rim and takes a sip.

"Well, Ackerman, Eren, I'll see you in class," Mr. R tells them.

Eren's eyes widen as he hears the older man call him by his first name.

"Yes, sir," Mikasa replies, hauling Eren to his feet and leaving the classroom.

"He called me Eren," Eren mutters once the door closes behind him.

"Yes, he did. Now go to class; and try not to be too distracted!" Mikasa orders, shoving Eren towards his Geometry class.

Eren enters the classroom and takes his seat. The bell rings, and the lesson begins. It's usual for Levi/Mr. R to be the only thing on his mind, but today feels very different. He called Eren by his first name. He never calls students by their first names. Mr. R has only given his own full name to the class once, on the first day of school, and he told them that, "My name is Rivaille. If you cannot pronounce it correctly, call me Mr. R."

Since then, everyone has called him Mr. R, because when one kid made the mistake of mispronouncing it and calling him "Ravioli", that kid got a scolding the likes of which has never been seen before.

Now, so late in the school year, very few students even remember Mr. R's name, and those who do, don't use it, for fear of mispronouncing it.

Eventually, the bell signaling the end of first, then second period rings. Eren rushes to History, eager to see Mr. R again. He enters the classroom grinning, and when Krista asks him why, he just says that he is having a very good day. Mr. R glances up from his book and brings his feet down off his desk. He closes his book and folds his glasses before carefully setting them on top of the desk.

"Hello, brats," he says to the class.

"Good morning Mr. R," they drone in response.

A few enthusiastic voices stand out, including Eren's and Petra's. They glare at each other for a second, sharing their mutual dislike of each other. Mr. R asks everyone to hand in Friday's assignment, and those who forgot about it and were furiously scribbling away on a piece of paper look up fearfully, knowing that Mr. R never accepts late work, unless the student in question was missing for an unforeseeable reason. Everyone passes their papers to the front of the room if they have one, and Mr. R collects them from the first person in each row. Eren sits on the back of the class, in the corner farthest from the door, so his is one of the last to be collected.

"Thank you. Now then, you are going to have a pre-test on the French Revolution, which will be our next unit. Please take one and pass it behind you," Mr. R announces, handing a stack of papers to each person at the front. Eren gets his test and starts immediately. It isn't particularly easy, because the class hasn't learned any of the material yet. Even so, Eren tries his best. When he's done, he flips the test over so that the blank back faces up. Eren pulls out his school sketchbook and starts drawing Mr. R as he sits back in his chair, feet propped up his desk, legs crossed the ankles, glasses resting gently on the bridge of his nose as he looks down at the book in his lap.

Just as Eren finishes the outline sketch and stops looking up at Mr. R, the teacher silently stands from his chair and walks around to collect the papers of those who are finished. Eren doesn't notice as Mr. R comes around because he's too busy shading. Mr. R leans over Eren's shoulder, causing the boy to jump in his chair and slam his notebook shut.

"You're a good artist, Jaeger, don't get me wrong. However, I'd rather you didn't practice your skills in my classroom," Mr. R says, poison lacing through his voice.

"Y-y-yes, sir," Eren stutters, shakily putting his notebook back into his backpack and pulling out a novel instead.

But when Eren looks back on his desk as Mr. R walks away, he notices a small, folded piece of notebook paper. Eren carefully unfolds it, and notices a phone number.

Eren's heart starts racing as he glances at Mr. R to see him looking at Eren from his big oak desk. Mr. R gives the slightest nod to let Eren know that it is indeed his phone number.

Eren grins, and walks out of class that day elated. Mikasa doesn't have practice today, so after school she drives Eren home.

"So, how did history class go today?" she asks him as they drive.

"Amazing!" Eren tells her.

"I thought so, based on that huge smile across your face. So what happened?" Mikasa asks.

"He gave me his phone number," Eren gloats.

"Then text him!" she orders, grinning along with her brother.

"Now?" Eren asks.

"No, tomorrow. Yes now! Go! Do it!" Mikasa shouts.

"O-okay," Eren says.

He pulls his phone out of his pocket and the slip of paper too. Eren creates a new text message and types the phone number in.

He clicks on the text box and bites his lip as he tries to think of something to say.

"What are you waiting for?" Mikasa questions. "Just say 'hello'."

Eren types in the letters one by one, and presses send before he can change his mind.

Text From: (###)###-####  
Hi

As this appears on the screen of goods phone, Levi picks it up and texts back, "Is it you, Jaeger?"

"He replied!" Eren claims.

"What did he say?" Mikasa asks.

"'Is it you, Jaeger?'" Eren reads.

"Well, say yes, obviously!"

Text From: (###)###-####  
Ya

"Good," Levi texts in reply. "I'm glad you decided to text me."

With this, both men add the other's name and number in their phones.

Text From: Eren  
So dz ths mn that u R n2 me 2?

Text From: Levi  
Not if you insist on using such improper spelling and a near-complete lack of punctuation.

Text From: Eren  
Sorry Im just used to txting like tht

Text From: Eren  
Its faster

Text From: Levi  
You have a smart phone, right?

Text From: Eren   
Ye

Text From: Levi  
So you should be able to set autocorrect to use proper grammar and punctuation.

Text From: Eren   
O

Text From: Eren  
I didnt kno tht

Text From: Levi  
Well, you do now.

After that, neither of them texts for a while. When Eren and Mikasa get home, he goes up into his room and starts working on his homework. Suddenly, his phone vibrates to let him know that he got a text.

Text From: Levi  
I'm sorry, Jaeger. I can be a bit of a jerk, sometimes.

Text From: Eren  
No its ok. i get it

Text From: Levi  
So you'll accept the backstage passes I got for you and your sister (if she wants to come) for this Saturday's Recon Core concert?

Text From: Eren  
Rly??

Text From: Levi  
Of course. I wouldn’t lie to you.

Text From: Eren  
OMG thnks so much! Ive got to ask my parents, but ill be right back to let you know wht they say!

Eren sprints down the stairs two at a time.

"Mom, Dad," he pants once he gets to the living room. "I just got invited to another Recon Core concert this Saturday; the tickets are already paid for. Can I go? Please?" Eren begs.

"Can you get a ride there, and be home by midnight?" Carla asks.

"Sure, sure!" Eren replies excitedly.

"I suppose that's okay. But who are you going with?" Grisha asks.

"Uh, just a friend from school," Eren lies.

His parents see right through him, and knowingly glance at each other.

"If you're dating someone, you do know that you can tell us, right?" Eren's Mom says.

"Um, yeah, but we're not dating," Eren tells them. "So I can go?"

"Yes, just be safe," his Mom says.

"Okay! Great! Thank you so much!" Eren runs over and hugs both of his parents. Then he races back up the stairs and picks up his phone.

Text From: Eren   
I cn go! Thnks so much! Can I come to ur class tomorrow morning 2 talk 2 u?

Text From: Levi   
Of course you can. You're welcome any time, brat.

Text From: Eren   
:) thnks again, sir.

Eren leaves his room and knocks on Mikasa's door.

"Come in," she says.

Eren opens the door and steps inside.

"So, he invited me to another concert," Eren tells her.

"Great! Do you need a ride?" Mikasa asks.

"No, he'll pick me up and drop me off; and he says that he's got a ticket for you too, if you want to go," Eren says.

She smiles.

"Thanks, but you know I can get in any time I want," Mikasa tells him.

"Right. Thanks Mikasa!" Eren beams.

He walks back into his room and gets out clothes for tomorrow. He's dressing up a little nicer than usual because he knows that Mr. R has started to notice him.


	6. Eren Meets the Band

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The title explains it all.

Mikasa drives them to school, and Eren runs to Mr. R's room. He reaches up to knock on the door, but pauses when he hears voices.

"So, are you gonna fuck him, or what?" a voice asks.

"What the hell, Hanji?! He could show up any minute, and besides, it's not like he'd ever want to," Levi's gruff voice replies.

"Haha, but would you if he did want to?" Hanji rephrases.

"…Yes," Levi answers quietly, after a minute.

"I knew it! He probably does want to, since he's a hormonal teenager," Hanji says.

Up to that point, Eren had been fuming in anger at thinking Mr. R has been simply leading Eren on, wanting to go out with someone else, but that sentence makes Eren begin to suspect that they had been talking about him. And the truth is, Eren does want to do it with Levi, but the young man isn't sure if he's ready to.

Eren now decides to knock on the door, which is opened by a very enthusiastic Hanji.

"You must be Eren!" they exclaim. "I'm Hanji; the guitarist from The Recon Core. Levi tells me you're quite the fan."

Hanji goes on for a little while longer before Levi barks their name and Hanji says goodbye, closing the door behind them as they leave, winking at both of them before they go.

"God, Hanji gives me a headache," Mr. R tells Eren.

"I can see why," he replies.

"So you can come?" Mr. R asks again.

"Yes; and Mikasa's boyfriend works in the club, so she doesn't need a pass," Eren tells Levi.

"Alright. Do you need me to drive you there?" he asks.

"Please, and I'd you wouldn't mind, maybe you can drop me off, too? My parents make me come home before midnight, when I go out," Eren tells the older man.

"Alright," he replies. "You... Didn't hear any of what Hanji said earlier, did you?"

"Well, I heard a little, but not anything that I didn't like," Eren says. "Goodbye, Mr. R! See you in third period!"

Eren runs away to Geometry before his response is processed. He feels his face heating up, and looks at the ground to hide it.

When he's finally in History class again, Mr. R looks at Eren as soon as he walks into the   
room. Jean and Marco are both absent, and Mr. R makes the joke that they're probably in the janitor's closet.

Everyone knows that they're a couple, no matter how much the two try to deny it.

Mr. R starts today's lesson as soon as the bell rings. He hands out a worksheet and tells the class to find the answers in the textbook. He walks around as everyone works on it, stopping to look over some people's shoulders. Finally, he gets to Eren.

"What's that, Jaeger?" he asks quietly, pointing to where Eren's left hand is resting over a sketch on the side of his page as he tries to cover it.

"N-nothing, sir," Eren stammers even quieter.

Mr. R pulls Eren's hand off the paper to reveal a drawing of Levi in a maid's uniform, dusting the top of question 5.

Mr. R clears his throat and asks Eren to stay after school today.

Eren nods, and covers his drawing back up while Mr. R walks away and Petra smirks.

The rest of the day passes normally. Eren sits with Mikasa and Armin at lunch. After school, Mikasa has basketball practice, and Eren tells her that he's going to stay after school with her, today. She doesn't ask him why, but instead says, "okay," and walks to practice. Eren texts his parents to tell them that he's staying after to "watch Mikasa practice". They reply with, "That's great, have fun!" and leave him alone.

Eren walks back to Mr. R's room, and the door is open when he gets there. Levi is leaning on his desk, fedora and coat in one hand, a black briefcase in the other.

"I've got something to show you," he says.

Eren follows his teacher, who leads him to another part of the school Eren's never been to before. They walk down a hallway towards a room from which people's voices and the sounds of equipment and instruments being set up and tuned can be heard.

Levi opens the door to the room and is greeted by friendly shouts and greetings.

"Levi! There you are! We were starting to get worried," a tall man with a light mustache says.

"I'm here now, Mike," Mr. R replies.

"Yes you are; who's that kid behind you?" Mike asks Levi.

"That's Eren," Hanji answers for him.

"He's younger than I thought he'd be," Oluo, who's the band's tech guy, remarks.

"I'm 16," Eren states.

"Hm," Erwin says, "still."

"I can't believe it; you're The Recon Core!" Eren exclaims.

"At least you're not fainting this time," Hanji laughs.

"Well, that had more to do with Mist - er, Levi - than you guys; sorry," Eren blushes.

"Yeah, you had a boner the the size of Lady Liberty," Hanji teases.

"Fuck, you noticed," Eren says, his blush deepening.

"Ah, don't worry about it," Erwin tells the Junior.

"So, are we just gonna stand around talking, or are we going to practice?" Levi asks.

His band mates laugh, and finish setting up. They finally turn on the mics and equipment, and start playing.

Hanji starts in on an acoustic guitar, and they strum a few chords before Levi leans into his mic and quietly sings, "He was a…"

A few more chords, and, "You know we..."

One last time, chords and then, "He was a…"

Then The Recon Core start into the real song.

"I was walkin' down the street, when out the corner of my eye, I saw a pretty little thing approaching me," Levi sings, dragging out "me".

He's set the amp to echo his voice. Levi sings as well as, if not better than, the original singer from Cage The Elephant.

"She said, 'I've never seen a man who looked so all alone, now could you use a little company?'" Levi's gravelly voice adds an interesting element to the song.

With this line, Levi looks Eren right in the eyes, and the younger man can feel those steely grey eyes asking.

Then, Hanji starts in with the next line.

"If you pay the right price, your evening will be nice, and you can go send me on my way," they sing.

"I said, 'you're such a sweet young thing, why do you do this to yourself?' She looked at me, and this is what she said," Levi picks up.

Now Levi, Hanji, and Erwin sing the chorus.

"'Oh, there ain't no rest for the wicked, money don't grow on trees! I got bills to pay, I got mouths to feed, and ain't nothing in this world for free! You know I can't slow down, I can't hold back, though you know I wish I could. Oh no, there ain't no rest for the wicked, until we close our eyes for good."

They sing the rest of the song this way, and Erwin takes over the vocals in the second part, about a man who robs the singer.

As soon as they finish, Eren starts applauding enthusiastically, as do Oluo, and a girl in the corner, whose face is hidden in shadow.

"Well done!" she says.

"Thanks, Petra," Levi laughs.

"Wait, 'Petra'?" Eren asks nervously.

"Oh, hello Eren. I didn't see you there," Petra replies, a flat tone to her voice.

Both of them gather hostile expressions, and Levi asks them what's wrong.

"Nothing, Mr. R," Petra claims. "I just thought that I was the only student who knew you are Levi."

'And I have a crush on you,' she thinks.

"I did, too," Eren adds.

Levi looks between the two nervously, noticing their anger. They haven't broken each other's gaze since they locked eyes.

Eventually, Levi sighs.

"Petra, you're our band's manager. Eren, you are one of our biggest fans, and I like you both, but in different ways," he states.

The two juniors look at him, surprised.

"Petra, you're like a younger sister to me. Eren, you're - well, you know," Levi says, blushing adorably.

Hanji laughs, realizing that Eren had overheard their conversation with Levi that morning.

A look of triumph passes across Eren's features, and Petra is crestfallen.

"Fine. Fine! But Eren, so help me, if you hurt Levi - Mr. R - in any way he doesn't like, I'll kill you," Petra growls.

Eren nods grimly. "Understood."

The band have been watching this encounter closely, and choose now to start the next song. Levi takes off his tie for it, and he unbuttons the top two on his shirt. Both Petra and Eren's eyes wander over his slim form.

Levi notices, and pauses for a moment before practicing the next song with the rest of the band.

Once rehearsal is over, Levi walks out of the room with Eren, who has half an hour before Mikasa gets out of practice and comes looking for him.

"Do you want to go back to my classroom until your sister comes to get you?" Levi asks Eren.

The younger man glances at Petra to see her glaring at him with her arms crossed. All it does to him widen his grin.

"I would love to," Eren replies.

They leave together, side by side, and walk back to the classroom after saying goodbye to the band (including Oluo) and Petra.

~+~+~+~

"Mr. R?" Eren asks, taking a seat in the desk nearest Mr. R's as the door to his room closes.

"You can call me Levi or Heichou, as long as no one outside the band finds out," he answers.

"Okay... Levi," Eren says.

The name sounds different than it used to, somehow... More - right.

"Did you mean what you said to Hanji this morning?" Eren inquires.

"What do you mean?" Levi asks.

"The part about... wanting to... you know," Eren says.

Levi's expression darkens.

"You heard that," he says.

Eren replies with a slight nod.

"Well then, the answer is yes," Levi responds.

Eren's eyes widen, and his face turns red.

"Really?" he asks.

"Yes. And based on those little drawings of yours, you feel similarly," Levi claims.

"About those; I've kinda got a whole notebook at home that my parents found, and made me explain, which was sort of how I ended up coming out to them," Eren rambles.

"Hm. I see. Would you mind bringing that notebook to school someday, so that I can see? You don't have to, of course, but I'm interested," Levi tells him.

"O-okay," Eren stutters. "I've got my at-school notebook that you saw during the quiz yesterday, if you want to look at that."

"Is that okay with you?" Levi asks.

"Yeah! Of course!" Eren says, reaching into his backpack to pull out a dog-eared, worn down black journal, similar to the one in Eren's desk at home.

He hands it over, and Levi takes it. He begins to flip through it, and doesn't say anything. At least, not until he comes across a particularly sexy sketch of Levi in a suit, shirt open and tie loose around his neck, looking up from a book in his lap. There's a speech bubble above the drawing that reads, "Come up to my desk, Jeager. I've got something for you."

"Wow. So this is what you are doing under your desk half the time," Levi remarks.

"…Yes."

"You're talented. Would you mind sketching up some new cover art for The Recon Core's new CD?" Levi asks.

"Can I?" Eren wonders.

"Of course. I just said you could, didn't I?" Levi answers.

Eren smiles, and thanks Levi. The young man has a perfect idea. He takes his sketchbook back, once Levi has seen all of the drawings. Some were of shapes, or of Eren's friends, but most of them were of Mr. R.

Eren decides to start drawing the cover now. He pulls out a mechanical pencil and starts the sketch. As he draws, Eren carries on a conversation with Levi about the concert this Saturday.

"Are you going to be performing the songs you practiced today?" Eren asks.

"Yes," Levi answers. "Did you like them?"

"Oh, yeah! You guys are amazing! And to think that the lead singer is my favorite teacher, who let me come watch you practice…" Eren trails off.

Levi smirks, and says, "Thank you, Eren. What exactly makes me your 'favorite teacher'?"

"Well," Eren starts, clearing his throat before mumbling a reply. "You're really hot, and your voice is amazing, and I don't understand how one person can stir up this much emotion in another."

Levi blinks, and his eyes widen ever so slightly.

"Thank you," he says.

Eren is almost finished with the first sketch, so Levi decides to peek over his shoulder.

It's The Recon Core's logo, but it has been modified so that it appears three-dimensional.

"Behind it," Eren explains, "I could draw a wall."

"Wow. That's really good, Eren," Levi says, impressed.

"Thank you, sir."

Eren finally finishes the drawing, and says that he'll color it at home and bring his second notebook, tomorrow.

"Can you stay after, again?" Levi asks.

"I could tell my parents that I'm in a school club; they'd be too busy being happy that I'm doing something extracurricular to be suspicious," Eren claims.

"Great. Do that," Levi tells Eren.

They sit and talk for a while longer until Mikasa comes to collect Eren.


	7. Levi's Apartment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren visits Levi's place, and Petra is a little jealous bish.

"…And that's how I became a teacher," Levi tells Eren, having recounted the story of how he used to be a high-roller in the black market, and about his mother and his uncle.

"Really?" Eren asks, eyes wide.

"Yes. And like I said, Erwin and the rest of The Recon Core were hired to capture me, and they blackmailed me into going into military special operations. We're all still in reserve for that," Levi says.

"So you could have to go away on a mission at any time?" Eren asks, impressed, but upset by the idea of his Levi going away on a dangerous mission. Well, he's not Eren's. But Eren wants him to be.

"That's correct," Levi answers.

"That must suck," Eren says.

"Well, there's not much I can do about it; it was either go on an occasional mission or spend the rest of my life in prison," Levi replies nonchalantly.

"Woah, what kind of stuff were you selling? Drugs?" Eren exclaims.

"Not drugs, but we got a hold of some top-secret military gear," Levi responds.

"What do you mean?" Eren asks, impressed yet again.

"There is this equipment called mobility gear. It allows the wearer to use retractable grappling hooks to propel themselves through space. The gear also have up to eight or 12 sword blades, depending on the model type. There are two handles for the blades that clip into holsters at the hips," Levi explains. "I shouldn't have told you any of that, though, so don't repeat it."

"Okay," Eren says. "That's pretty amazing, though."

"I agree; that's why we stole them," Levi says.

"We?" Eren inquires.

Levi takes a seat behind his desk before continuing.

"Farlan, Isabel, and I," he says, looking down at his lap as he rests his hands on the desk in front of him. His voice sounds strained.

"What happened to them? If you don't mind me asking," Eren asks gently.

"They... They were murdered," Levi chokes out.

A tear slips down his cheek and lands in his lap.

"By who?" Eren asks quietly, standing to gently put his arm around Levi's shoulders.

It breaks the young man's heart to see him cry like this.

"The Titans," Levi growls, his voice suddenly taking on a vengeful tone.

"Who?" Eren asks.

"A notorious gang from where I come from," Levi elaborates.

"Oh… That must have been awful... Who… Who found them?" Eren asks.

"I did. Well, I found the top half of Farlan, and Isabel's head," Levi growls bitterly, his eyes drying up.

"O-oh…" Eren trails off.

"But don't worry; it's not as if the Titans are going to be killing anyone else," Levi claims, a sadistic smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth.

Eren doesn't say anything.

A knock at the sir startles them both.

"Eren? Are you ready to go?" Mikasa calls through the door.

"Oh, yeah," Eren says. "Just a minute."

"Levi," he says, turning to him. "I killed two men when I was a kid in order to save Mikasa and avenge her parents. I understand."

With that, Eren runs up to Levi and hugs him before leaving with Mikasa.

~+~+~+~

"So, what'd you do?" Mikasa asks in a sing-song voice.

"He took me to watch The Recon Core practice," Eren brags.

"What about while you were in his classroom?" she asks.

"I showed him my school notebook, and he asked me to draw a cover for the band's new album," Eren claims.

"Oh. Okay," Mikasa replies.

"And he asked me to come back tomorrow," Eren adds.

"Great!" Mikasa exclaims.

They pull up in front of their two-story, tan house, and step inside. Eren's mother asks Mikasa how practice went, and she says it was fine. Eren goes up to his room and finishes today's homework.

As soon as he's done, Eren picks up his phone to find a message from Levi.

Text From: Levi  
So Eren, what's between you and Petra?

Text From: Eren  
We r kinda enemies

Text From: Levi  
Why? Over what?

Text From: Eren   
U

There's a pause before Levi continues.

Text From: Levi  
I'm honored, but you guys talked about this at practice. So why exactly were you against each other before then?

Text From: Eren   
I was jelous of her being ur favorite student

Eren holds his phone tightly, awaiting Levi's response. Suddenly, the phone switches screens and starts ringing.

"Eren, how long have you had a crush on me?" Levi asks; his handsome voice is muffled by the speaker.

"...Since I met you," Eren states after a moment.

"That's what I thought. I did like Petra, as my student. But you; I haven't felt this way towards anyone in a long time," Levi says, cutting his voice off as it cracks in the last word.

"Levi?" Eren asks.

"Yes?" Levi answers, regaining his composure.

"Will you… Be my boyfriend?"

On Levi's end, he's sitting on his couch in his small, tidy apartment. He tears up, his breath catching. He raises a hand over his mouth as a tear slips down his cheek. The last person who asked him that was Farlan.

"Yes," Levi says, choking on the single word.

"Thank you, Levi. And if you ever want to talk about anything, you can talk to me," Eren tells him gently.

"Thank you Eren," Levi says, before hanging up.

Only as he presses the red button in the center of the screen does Eren notice Mikasa standing in his doorway.

"You don't look very happy, considering you just started officially dating the man of your dreams. Both figuratively and literally," she says.

"Something upset him," Eren explains, worry and sadness in his eyes.

"What do you think it was?" Mikasa asks.

"My guess is that something happened someone he loved before," Eren says sadly.

Mikasa just nods before leaving Eren alone again. He gets up and closes his bedroom door, pulling out his sketchbook as he sits back down. He takes out a pencil and starts sketching.

The finished product is amazing. It is a close-up of Levi's steely eyes, brimming with tears. Just looking at it makes Eren's heart break a little.

He glances towards a hidden box in his closet that contains a few bare razor blades. Eren stands, but just as he reaches towards it, he brings his hand back down, rubbing his fingertips over the scars on his wrist which is usually covered by sleeves or bracelets.

"For Levi," Eren murmurs, turning away from his closet.

Cutting can become an addiction, and it can be so hard to stop, even if you have amazing motivation. The scars become familiar, the pain becomes a drug. It shouldn't be hard not to hurt yourself, but it can be just as hard to stop self-harming as to stop doing certain habits. You have to work at it, or else you'll fail. It is too easy to slip, and Eren has so much to live for. But the pain is calming in a way; it distracts a person from their emotional pain.

Eren grabs his pajamas and walks to his bathroom. He turns the heat up in the shower up until the steaming water burns, enough so that the desire to cut is washed away from Eren. He takes a quick shower, combs and dries his hair, and gets dressed. Eren brushes his teeth, then carries his pile of dirty clothes into his room. Suddenly, he remembers his laundry. But Eren's laundry hamper is sitting in its usual place in his closet, clean clothes folded inside it.

Eren's Mom appears in the doorway of his room.

"Thanks for taking care of my laundry, Mom," he says.

"Of course, sweetie," she smiles. "Goodnight!"

"Goodnight," Eren calls after her as she leaves, closing the door behind her.

He notices his journal left open on his desk, and picks it up before placing it in his backpack. Truthfully, Eren is really nervous about showing Mr. R/Levi, his muse for most of the entire notebook, the pictures inside.

Having him see a few sketches of himself sexualized as a maid, or with his shirt undone, is nothing compared to some of the colored drawings in Eren's personal notebook.

But Eren promised.

So, it is with great discomfort and worry that Eren gets on the bus the next morning and starts his day. He explained to his parents that morning that he'll be staying after school for, "a club he found," while Mikasa was practicing. When asked what type of club it is, he lied that it's about history and studying. Miraculously, they buy it, and he can go with the exception that he gets a ride home, because his father will be working and his mother will be cooking.

During history class, Eren and Levi continuously lock eyes. Halfway through, while the class is working on a worksheet, Eren feels his phone buzz in his pocket to let him know that he has a text. He looks up at Levi, who is in his customary reading position, his book in the lap of his crossed legs, feet resting on top of his desk. Except, there's a light glow from what appears to be the book, more likely from a cell phone.

Levi gives Eren a slight nod, and the young man slowly pulls his phone out of his pocket, checking it under the table.

Text From: Levi  
Did you bring the notebook?

Text From: Eren   
Yes

Text From: Eren   
R u sure u want 2 c it?

Text From: Levi   
Unless you don't want me to. I'm curious. Are there any pictures of you in it?

Eren blushes.

Text From: Eren  
Not of me alone

Text From: Levi  
Alone?

Eren smiles slightly, but doesn't reply.

Text From: Levi   
Did your parents say you can stay after?

Text From: Eren   
Yes but I need a ride home

Text From: Levi   
From me?

Text From: Eren   
Plz?

Text From: Levi   
Sure. Do you want to come to apartment after school instead of my classroom? We don't have to, but I'd like to give you the option.

Text From: Eren   
Id love 2! Thnk u Levi

The older man smirks, looking up and meeting Eren's excited emerald gaze.

Text From: Levi   
See you after school then, brat.

Eren's smile widens, and his eyes sparkle.

Petra looks up and notices Levi and Eren staring at each other and she glares at Eren, who just smirks at her. When Levi gives them both a cold glare, they stop and get back to work.

The rest of the day crawls by too slowly for Eren. He is impatient in every single class for the rest of the day, eager to go to Levi's apartment. At lunch, Armin asks Eren what's up with him.

"I've got plans for after school," Eren mutters distractedly, staring at the clock on the wall of the cafeteria.

"With Mr. R?" Armin inquires.

"How did you find out?" Eren asks, shifting to glare at Armin suspiciously.

"Petra passed around a rumor..." Armin reluctantly admits.

"What kinds of rumor?" Eren asks, his face paling.

"That... You and Mr. R have been... Um, doing it… in his classroom, after school," Armin tells him, looking at the floor.

"What?!" Eren exclaims, earning a few glances from his fellow students.

"That's outrageous. Eren would never do that. Would you?" Mikasa defends.

"Not- No," Eren says.

"I never said I believed her, I just told you the rumor," Armin claims. "Why did she even start it?"

"Well, we are... close," Eren replies.

"What do you mean by 'close'?" the blonde inquires.

"I mean, we've talked a lot," Eren says.

It isn't a lie, it just isn't the full truth.

"Oh my god… Are you two dating?" Armin whispers.

"I… Maybe?" Eren admits.

Armin blinks once.

"And Petra was lying?" Armin asks.

"Yes! We haven't... yet," Eren states, eyes wide but shifting down to the floor on the second part of his sentence.

"Like Dad is always reminding you, 'just be safe when you do,'" Mikasa jokes.

"Ugh, not you too," Eren growls, burying his head in his hands, his cheeks bright red.

The bell rings, saving Eren from any more embarrassment. He makes it through the rest of his classes, and sprints to Levi's classroom. He passes Mikasa and Armin on their way out, and waves goodbye to them. A few students trickle along, looking at Eren suspiciously before leaving the building.

Pretty soon he bursts into Mr. R's room, skidding through the open door. Eren tries to catch himself on the door frame, but his hand slips. He trips, and knocks into Levi. The shorter man tumbles backwards, Eren landing on top of him. The air is crushed out of both of them.

Levi releases a string of profanities all aimed towards or about Eren, like, "Eren, you damn brat!" "Get the fuck off me, Jaeger," and "As much as I want to make those rumors come true, we can't!"

With this last line, Eren rolls off of Levi and sits up, staying and reaching out a hand to help Levi up. It is only then that they notice Petra standing in the doorway. With a cellphone, recording.

A horrified look of betrayal crosses Levi's face, and Eren's eyes light up with fury.

"You bitch!" Eren screams at her as she runs away, giggling maliciously.

Eventually, he gives up the chase and resigns himself to the fact that the whole school is going to see the video or hear about it at some point.

"Well, there's nothing we can do, Eren," Levi tells him, coming up behind the younger man.

"I know; that's what frustrates me!" Eren replies, glowering at the door Petra escaped though.

"Let's just go," Levi says, leading the way out of the building.

It finally dawns on Eren that he is actually going to go to Levi's apartment. Levi's fucking apartment! It's really happening, even though it's highly unlikely that anything will really happen. Today, that is.

"Here we are," Levi says, pulling into a parking space in front of a weather-beaten, multi-story apartment building.

He pulls the keys out of the ignition and steps out of his sleek, low black Lexus. They enter the building together, Levi holding a small device up to a sensor to unlock the front door. He takes Eren up to the fourth and top floor in the elevator. He walks down the hallway to the right and stops in front of the third door on the left. Eren follows his lead.

Levi inserts one of the keys on his key chain, and the heavy door clicks as the lock turns. Levi shoves the door open with his shoulder, pressing against the resistance of a poorly aligned hardwood floor.

"It isn't much, but you've got to remember where I come from," Levi says, his voice curiously high as he starts his sentence, lowering to its usual depth by the end.

Eren smiles; it's a simple white-walled studio apartment with a large, L-shaped, black leather sofa, a low queen-size bed with a black nightstand on either side, and a tidy kitchen with nothing out except for a kettle on the stove. There's a table next to kitchen with two chairs on either side. A large dresser stands against one wall, a slim black desk with a laptop on top beside it. The bed has a simple, large, dark oak headboard. It has dark scarlet sheets and a black duvet and pillows. There are only a few wrinkles on the nearly perfect surface, and the edges are tucked neatly into the bordering oak. The couch surrounds a small, low, black coffee table on thin silver legs. All of the kitchen appliances are black, but the kettle is red with a scratched and charred bottom.

"I like it," Eren states.

Levi glances at him to determine whether he's just saying it to be nice, or if he means it.

'He really does,' Levi notices, slightly surprised.

Levi kicks off his shoes, setting them by the door, and instructs Eren to do the same. He hangs his coat on a vintage black hat stand and his fedora on a hook above the one the coat is now hanging from. Then Levi sets his briefcase on the ground against a wall, Eren doing the same with his backpack after taking out his sketchbook.

"Would you like something to drink?" Levi asks.

"Just water, please," Eren answers.

Levi nods and goes to the kitchen. He opens his cupboard and pulls two glasses out. Eren notices that there is nothing on the top shelf of each cupboard; probably because Levi can't reach up there.

Eren takes a seat on the couch, enjoying the feeling as he sinks into the soft, but cold leather.

In the kitchen, Levi fills Eren's glass with water from a purifier in his fridge.

"Ice?" he asks.

"Sure," Eren replies.

Levi pulls a rubber ice tray out of his freezer and plunks two cubes into the glass.

He sets it in front of Eren and goes back to the kitchen to make himself a drink. He pours in some tonic water, followed by a decent amount of gin. He brings his drink over, and sits beside Eren. Levi turns his body to face the younger man.

"So, what about those drawings?" Levi asks, nodding towards the notebook in Eren's arms.

"Right... But if there's a picture I don't want you to see, I'm going to skip it, okay?" Eren informs Levi.

"Alright," Levi responds.

Eren sets his notebook on the coffee table in front of them. He flips it open to the first page, which contains a warning.

"Fuck off," is written in bold pixel font inside a pixleated speech bubble.

Levi smirks slightly.

Eren slowly flips through the notebook. Levi's eyes gradually widen as he realizes why Eren was so nervous to show him this notebook. Levi holds out his hand to stop Eren turning the page again. On the current page is a picture of Levi pressing Eren to a wall. You can't see past their waists, but one of Levi's hands is below the cutoff, reaching towards Eren. Levi's other hand holds Eren's arms above the taller man's head. It's difficult to tell if Eren's face in the picture is twisted in an expression of pain or pleasure.

"Impressive," Levi murmurs.

"Thanks," Eren says, blushing furiously.

He's sure that Levi knows what is supposed to be happening in that drawing.

Eren reaches out to flip the page, but accidentally brushes his hand against Levi's as he does. People say that when you touch someone you love, you get a shock. And the truth is, it feels just like touching anyone else, but more right, more comfortable, and you become paralyzed for a moment.

Eren just freezes with his arm held out for a second, until he comes back to reality. Suddenly, Eren is more aware of everything. He didn't notice all of the smells laced into that of just "an apartment" before. Now, he smells coffee, vanilla, and an unidentifiable smell that Eren can only describe as "Levi". Smelling it makes his eyes glint, and his heart soar. Levi notices, and gently pulls his hand away.

"Eren," he calls, visibly shocking Eren out of his second-long trance.

"S-sorry," Eren stutters, drawing his hand away.

Levi flips the page again and again until he reaches the most recent drawing in it; Levi's crying eyes.

"When did you draw this?" Levi asks softly.

"…Last night," Eren answers, equally quietly.

Levi nods, and asks, "After last night's phone call?"

"Yes," Eren tells him.

Levi brings a fist up to cover his mouth.

"I love you, Levi. And if you ever need help, I'll do anything I can," Eren claims, wrapping am arm around Levi's shoulders.

Levi's shoulders heave once, but he turns his face away from Eren so that the younger man won't see the tears in his role model's eyes.

Eren wraps his other arm around Levi's waist from behind, resting his head on the older man's shoulder. Levi turns back towards Eren, and embraces him tightly.

"Thank you," Levi says, again in that mysterious high voice.

Eren furrows his brow at it, but doesn't say anything.


	8. Dinner is Mandatory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More visiting Levi's place, then they have dinner at Eren's.

They hold each other for a while, but they eventually have to break apart. They talk for the rest of Eren's visit. Each of them learns more and more about the other's past, but Levi continues to be extremely vague about his childhood.

"I've got to get home soon," Eren says after an hour and a half.

"Yes. Go get your stuff, and I'll drive you," Levi tells him.

Eren smiles as he gets his backpack and puts his shoes back on. He picks his notebook up off the coffee table and follows Levi out the door. They go back and get into Levi's car.

"Do you know how to get to your house, Eren?" Levi asks.

"I do from the school; I live on the outskirts of town," Eren says. "Do you know where Shiganshina is?"

"It's that neighborhood on the south side of town, right?" Levi asks.

"Yeah," Eren answers.

Levi nods, and starts his car. He pulls out of the parking garage and drives to Shiganshina. Once they get to the large neighborhood, Eren gives Levi instructions on how to get to his house. They pull up in front of it, and Levi asks Eren if he wants Levi to walk him to the door.

"If you want to," Eren replies cheerily.

They get out of the car and Eren pulls his backpack out of the back seat. He walks to front door, Levi at his side. As they step up to the door, they hug, and look into each other's eyes for a moment.

"Well," Eren says. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"You too, Eren," Levi says.

Eren leans in and plants a soft kiss on Levi's cheek. Just as he pulls his red face away and a stunned Levi's eyes widen, the front door opens to reveal Eren's mother.

"Mr. R!" she cries out when she sees him.

"Ah, hello Mrs. Jaeger… I'm just dropping Eren off. I'll see you tomorrow, Eren," Levi says, turning to go.

"Nonsense," Carla Jaeger orders. "You should stay for dinner."

"Oh, it's okay. Thank you for the offer, though," Levi tells her, nervous because Eren told him about the notebook incident after the concert.

"No! We have too much food, anyway. Please," Carla begs. "I'm sure Eren doesn't mind."

She shoots her son a glare that communicates that she knows that Eren didn't actually go to an after-school club.

"Well, if you insist," Levi gives in. "Thank you."

He follows Eren and his mom into the house. Levi starts to take off his shoes in the entry hall, but Eren stops him.

"You don't to take off your shoes, here," he explains.

"Alright," Levi responds, keeping his shoes on.

He notices the precarious piles of books on various surfaces, with occasional cups and knick knacks everywhere.

Eren drops his backpack by the stairs so that he doesn't forget to bring it up, later.

"Hey, Mikasa!" he calls upstairs. "Dinner's ready, and Mr. R is staying for it."

At this last piece of information, she pokes her head out of her bedroom and thanks Eren before running down the stairs.

"Hello, Ackerman," Levi greets her.

"Mr. R! Why are you here?" she asks.

"I came to drop Eren off, but Mrs. Jaeger insisted that I stay for dinner," Levi answers.

"Oh… Does he know about the notebook?" Mikasa whispers to Eren, who nods.

"Alright, well... I just hope Mom doesn't try anything," she says.

"Or Dad, when he gets home," Eren adds.

As if on cue, the front door opens to reveal Eren's father.

"Hello?" he calls through the house.

"Hey Dad!" Mikasa and Eren answer simultaneously.

"We have company, sweetheart!" Eren's Mom yells from the kitchen.

"Yes, I saw the car out front. Who is it?" Grisha asks.

Eren leads Levi back to the entry hall to meet Grisha.

"Hello, Mr. Jaeger," Levi says, holding out his hand to shake.

"You must be Mr. R," Eren's Dad says, obviously uneasy, but shaking Levi's hand nonetheless.

"Yes," Levi answers. "I was just dropping your son off from his after school study club, and your wife asked me to stay for dinner."

"Right... Okay, well, thank you," Grisha answers, looking Levi up and down.

Levi wears a neutral expression as he replies with a curt, "It was nothing."

"Hey Eren, didn't you say that dinner was ready?" Mikasa asks, breaking the uncomfortable silence that has settled down.

"Oh, yeah! Let's go eat," Eren says, eagerly leading the way to the kitchen.

On the dinner table are five steaming plates of salmon, with one sweet potato each, and some peas on the side. Grisha sits at the head of the long table, and Eren's mother sits on his right. Mikasa sits across from her, on Grisha's left. Eren sits beside Mikasa, and Levi takes the tail of the table, across from Eren's father. They each place their napkins in their laps and start eating.

"So, how long have you been teaching?" Eren's Mom asks.

"About fifteen years," Levi tells her after he finishes a mouthful of salmon. "This is delicious!"

"Oh, thank you!" Carla replies. "Did you do anything before that?"

"Well," Levi says, glancing at Eren who gives him the slightest head shake. "Not really."

"I see. Where did you grow up?" Grisha asks.

"Underground city," Levi answers.

"When did you leave?" Eren's Dad enquires, aware of how horrible the conditions in that hell hole are.

"Almost twenty years ago; I was fifteen," Levi claims.

"So, how old are you now? If you don't mind me asking," Carla questions.

"Not at all; I am 34," Levi tells her.

"Really? I would've thought you were 30!" she exclaims.

"Well thank you," Levi says with a nod.

"Where did your family move after the underground city?" Grisha asks, bringing the topic back.

Levi freezes, his grip his fork tightening. He stares at his plate.

"Dad, let's not talk about his family," Eren begs.

"No, it's alright Eren," Levi says softly. "In answer to your question, Mr. Jaeger, my mother died when I was young; my father abandoned her before I was born. I was raised by my uncle, who... Was not a kind man. I left with my two friends and went into the military for a time. After five years, I retired and started teaching."

"I'm so sorry," Grisha says quietly.

There is a pause in the conversation before Eren's mother asks another question.

"What did you do on the military?"

"I was a Corporal in the Reconnaissance Special Operations Corps," Levi answers.

"Did you ever have to kill anyone?" Grisha asks.

"...A few lowlife thugs," Levi tells him honestly.

"…I see," Carla says.

"Mom, Dad, there's something you should know," Eren says after a while.

Levi meets his gaze and they holds hands under the table.

Levi whispers to him, "You're going to tell them, now?"

Eren shrugs slightly.

"They're gonna have to know at some point; it might be easier to let them know earlier," Eren replies softly.

"What is it, Eren?" his mother asks.

"Mr. R - Levi, and I, are dating," Eren explains quickly.

Eren watches as his words are slowly understood.

"But he's... you're… his student, Eren. Aren't the other kids going to be suspicious?" Carla asks.

"They're already spreading rumors that are a lot worse than the truth," Eren tells her.

"Well then, I suppose as long as you two are happy," Grisha trails off.

"Thank you so much!" Eren bursts, even though his mother wears a face of worry and his father's expression is uneasy.

He gets up and runs around to hug both of his parents. Mikasa and Levi laugh.

"So when's the wedding?" Mikasa jokes.

Everyone laughs and Eren sits back down beside Levi, who takes his hand. This time on top of the table.

~+~+~+~

Eren's family ask the new couple a few more questions, and Eren helps Levi answer some of them. Finally, Levi turns the conversation around, and asks Grisha and Carla about themselves. By the time Levi walks out the front door, smiling adorably and waving goodbye, he and Eren's family are on first-name terms.

"He's shorter than I expected," Eren's Dad comments after closing the front door.

"Yeah. He's 5'3," Eren tells him. "Just don't make any jokes about it; he'd probably tolerate it from you, but he hates anyone bringing up his height. I think it's adorable, though."

Eren chuckles and his father smiles.

Carla comes up to Eren and says, "As happy as I am that you get to date your muse, it's your turn to do the dishes."

Eren sighs exaggeratedly and goes back into the kitchen to clean up. Once he's done, he walks upstairs, picking up his backpack as he passes it. Eren sits down at his desk in his room and does his homework. Once he finally finishes it, he pulls a blank sheet of paper from his desk and sketches himself, alone, for the first time in a while. He sketches the proportions, then an outline, then details, and then he colors it.

The finished art is Eren sitting cross-legged on top of a school desk wearing black stilettos and a loose maid's uniform that is slipping off his shoulder. Eren sketches Levi's classroom in the background, and folds the paper into thirds with the image on the inside. Eren snags an envelope from another drawer in his desk and slides the drawing into it. He labels the envelope with the name "Mr. R" in flowing, cursive letters. Under the name, Eren writes a note.

"Please wait until you are alone to open this," he writes in his best handwriting.

Eren takes his personal sketchbook out of his backpack and puts it back in the drawer. Then he pulls out his school notebook and puts the envelope in between the cover and the first page.

He closes his backpack and drops it by the door to his room. Eren gets ready for bed and says good night to his parents before falling asleep, thinking of Levi.

But just as Eren start to fall asleep, he receives a text.

Text From: Annie  
So now you're not just the teacher's pet, but the teacher's dildo?

Text From: Eren   
No. Fuck off Annie

Text From: Annie  
When did you start using such proper spelling in texts? Did Mr. R teach those tricks to you? I'm sure they aren't the only ones.

Eren grits his teeth.

Text From: Eren   
Just leave me alone

Text From: Annie  
Why? Am I interrupting anything between you and Mr. R?

Text From: Eren   
No!

Text From: Annie   
Sure I'm not. Little fag.

Eren's eyes water slightly at that word. It's true, too, he realizes. This is why Eren's been so afraid to come out at school. Not everyone accepts people for who they are.

Eren glances towards his closet.

'If I do it just one more time, no one will know, right? I've done it a lot before and no one found out,' Eren thinks.

He slips out of bed and tiptoes to his closet. He pulls out the small plastic box that contains his razor blades. He takes one out and sneaks to the bathroom. He leans over the sink and drags the sharp piece of metal across his skin. He gasps as the scarlet beads of blood seep up out of the cut. He makes a few more, until he has distracted himself from his emotional pain enough.

Some addictions are hell.

Eren washes the cuts and razor clean. He sneaks back into his room, his wrist stinging sharply. Eren replaces the blade in its box, and gets out an outfit for tomorrow. He pulls out a pair of dark jeans and a white and navy blue striped, long-sleeve shirt. He goes back to bed and falls asleep.


	9. Mostly Texts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The bullying commences.

Eren wakes up to his noisy alarm. He smacks his phone to turn it off, which doesn't work. Eren has to roll out of bed and turn it off the hard way. After getting dressed and checking to make sure there aren't any clues left about his cutting from last night, he picks up his phone.

"No new messages," flashes across the bright screen.

"Thank God," Eren sighs under his breath. Annie's text lady night really got to him.

He goes downstairs, eats breakfast, and goes to school with Mikasa.

"I'm just going to go to class this morning," Eren tells her as they get out of the jeep.

"Why? Don't you want to see Mr. R?" Mikasa asks.

"…I do, but... Can you just leave me alone for once? I don't need you to baby me, alright?" Eren states.

"Oh… Alright... I'm sorry Eren," Mikasa responds, slightly taken aback.

Eren just walks away.

"Is Eren alright?" Armin asks Mikasa.

"I don't know," she says, "but I don't think so."

"What do you think is wrong? The rumors?" Armin quietly questions.

"Possibly," Mikasa answers.

\---------

Eren sits through his classes. Once he makes it to History, Levi glances at him with a touch of hurt and worry in his eyes. Eren defensively hides his left wrist behind his back, even though it's covered by the long sleeves.

Eren looks away, avoiding Levi's gaze as Reiner shouts with a malicious grin across the classroom.

"Look who's here!" Reiner crows. "I wonder... what did you do last night? Oh wait, based on Petra's video, we already know."

Eren feels his face grow hot, and he makes his way to his distant desk as his classmates laugh and throw things at him. Bertolt tries to trip him. Levi stands up and glares at the class.

"That's enough!" he shouts, slamming his hands on the desk in front of him. The fury behind his voice burns. "There is nothing between Jaeger and I. Petra just hates to lose the 'oh-so-great' privilege of being one of my favorite students. And, Ral, if you continue acting out, you will become one of my least favorite students. I dislike those who prey on others."

There's a look in Eren's eyes now that makes Levi feel awful for saying what he just had to say, but if he hadn't said it, Eren would have continued to be bullied mercilessly in this class. Besides, the expression on Petra's face is priceless. Something between shock, indignation, anger, and acceptance.

The class settles down and Levi starts the lesson. But throughout it, there's an edge to his voice that startles the class. Mr. R is usually so calm and collected. Why is he getting so upset?

When the bell rings, Eren avoids looking Levi in the eye. But as he passes his teacher's big oak desk on the way out, he drops the envelope with the picture in it in front of Levi.

Eren doesn't stay after school that day. Instead, he goes home on the bus because Mikasa has practice. Once he is locked away in the safety is his bedroom, he breaks down on his bed and cries.

Eren understands that Levi did what he had to, but it hurts nonetheless. Being dropped and forgotten always does, even if that's just what it felt like and isn't what happened.

Eren decides to text Levi, but when he picks up the phone, there are already messages on it from some of his classmates.

"Faggot."

"Your an idiot. Mr. R will never date an ugly bitch like you."

"Do us all a favor and get your stupid ass out of our lives."

Eren is hit with a new wave of tears, and suddenly he doesn't feel like doing anything. So, he curls up in a tight ball on his bed and sobs. Mikasa comes home and tries to get into Eren's room, but he locked the door.

"Eren? Eren! Let me in," she begs.

"I... I don't want to," Eren cries.

"Eren, please," Mikasa pleads.

"I just want to be alone, Mikasa," Eren tells her.

There is silence for a moment, but then Eren hears her murmur "okay," and leave.

He bites his pillow and stops his tears. His face feels dry and itchy now, but Eren just doesn't have the motivation to do anything about it.

But then his phone lights up again...

Text From: Levi   
Are we still on for Saturday? Or was what I said too cruel…?

Text From: Eren   
I understand that it was necessary

Text From: Levi   
Good. Are you alright, Eren? You sound a little too formal.

Text From: Eren   
I do? R you sure it couldnt possibly b bcuz of those damn rumors Petra started?

Text From: Levi   
Eren, tell me what happened.

Text From: Eren   
Its nothin. Jst lv me alone Levi. Please.

Text From: Levi   
No, it's not nothing. If someone hurt you, that's my problem too.

Text From: Eren   
Please?

Levi is sitting on his couch at home, having just gotten back from rehearsal. A wave of frustration, sadness, fury, and just general unhappiness crashes through him as he reads Eren's responses.

Text From: Levi   
Fine.

~+~+~+~

Eren barely does his homework that night, because it takes him forever to work up the motivation. He picks at his chili, taking only a few bites. His family notices, but when they ask him about it, Eren tells them that he doesn't want to talk.

After dinner, Mikasa does the dishes for Eren, who retreats back into his room. He has more messages on his phone, and when none of them are from Levi, he deletes them before reading what they say. He pulls a blade from the box in his closet, wraps it in his bundle of pajamas, and goes into the bathroom to shower.

Eren stands under the pounding stream of scalding water that is turning his skin pink. He takes the small blade and slices his left wrist once again; and again; and again. He may have been able to last one day not cutting thanks to Levi, but that's upsettingly difficult to maintain.

Pink water runs down the drain as Eren inspects the neat, new row of thin cuts along his arm. He finishes rinsing off, and turns off the water. He steps out of the shower and dries himself off, pressing a few tissues to his wrist to stop the bleeding. He brushes his teeth as he waits, passing his wrist against the tissue on the counter and brushing his teeth with his other hand.

Eren wouldn't mind dying; in fact, if it weren't for the people he'd leave behind, Eren would've killed himself a long time ago.

When Eren is dressed and his cuts aren't openly bleeding anymore, he hangs up his towel and walks back into his room. Mikasa is sitting on his bed, waiting for him.

"Gah! Mikasa, what are you doing here?" Eren asks, clutching his bundle of clothes closer to his chest.

"I want to know what's wrong. I won't leave until you tell me," she explains.

"Fine! Petra's rumors are getting to me. Now can you please leave?" Eren begs her.

"That's not all," Mikasa claims. "What else is there?"

"How the hell do you know?!" Eren yells.

"So there is," Mikasa says.

"Yes! But why do you care?" Eren asks. "It's my problem, not yours, and not Levi's. Can't you guys just leave me alone?"

"Levi wants to help you, too?" Mikasa pries.

"Uhg, yes, of course, now will you please get the fuck out of my room?!" Eren screams.

"No. Tell me what else is wrong, first. And show me your left arm," Mikasa orders.

Eren groans internally. He put his arm behind his back when he saw Mikasa on his bed, because he didn't want her to see the cuts. But, she noticed.

"A few kids from school aren't being that great," Eren says quietly.

He holds out his arm with the side with the most recent cuts down. There are still plenty on the top side, though.

"You wouldn't be this bad if it were just a few kids not being nice," Mikasa says, slowly inspecting Eren's arm.

"I told you what's wrong. Now can you please," Eren begs, "PLEASE leave?"

"…Alright," Mikasa reluctantly answers. "I'll go. But if you tell me exactly who's been bullying you, I won't have any problem fucking them up."

"Thanks," Eren says, watching as Mikasa leaves his room.

She closes the door behind her, and Eren doesn't even bother to check his phone yet. Instead, he sits on the edge of his bed for a while.

Carla comes into his room later, to say goodnight, and he hides the cuts well. When she leaves, turning off the light and closing the door behind her, Eren finally picks up his phone.

There are more messages from the bullies that cause Eren to press his fingers against the most recent cuts to increase the pain. But then there's a message from Levi.

Text From: Levi  
Eren. Mikasa told me what happened, but not who it was. If it was Petra, I swear to God I'll flunk her, since I obviously can't quite kill her. Oh, and that drawing sure is nice.

Text From: Eren   
Did Mikasa tell you everything?

Text From: Levi   
I think so. I had already guessed about the cutting.

Text From: Eren   
Im so sorry, Levi. I stopped myself a few days ago because of u, but Im not strong enough to stop forever yet. Ill try tho

Text From: Levi   
Eren, you are strong. And you aren't the only one being bullied.

Text From: Eren   
What do you mean?

Text From: Levi   
I almost lost my job today because principal Zackly suspected me of molestation.

Text From: Eren   
No!

Text From: Levi  
I'm afraid it's true. Which means, we definitely can't be open about our relationship at school yet, as you know.

Text From: Eren   
Yeah

Text From: Levi   
Will you stay after with me, tomorrow? We can go to a coffee shop or a park maybe.

Text From: Eren   
Ok yeah, Id like 2

Text From: Levi   
Great. I'll see you tomorrow, Eren

Text From: Eren   
You 2 Mr. R

They end the conversation smiling, and looking forward to the next day.

Eren falls asleep thinking of Levi.


	10. "Wipe Your Mouth"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I thank my cousin for the inspiration for last lines in the texts at the end.

"Brrring! Brrring! Brrring!" Eren's alarm shrieks in the morning.

He stops it and rolls out of bed to realize that he forgot to put out clothes for today. He grabs a pair of grey skinny jeans and a black long sleeve shirt and throws them on, topping off today's look with a white hoodie. He runs downstairs and eats his breakfast before getting in the jeep with Mikasa.

"So," she asks him in the car. "You seem happy, considering last night."

"Yeah; I've got a date with Levi after school today," Eren explains, biting his lower lip.

Mikasa chuckles.

"So you texted him last night?" she asks.

"Yes. I don't care that you told him what happened; it's best that he knows," Eren replies.

Mikasa nods.

It's Friday; almost a week since Eren figured out Levi's alternate persona. And today, they are going on their first real date. Maybe finding out about Levi's biggest secret wasn't bad at all.

'But... What if that's not his biggest secret? He's never said much about his early childhood. All I know is that his mother died and his father abandoned her before she gave birth. He was raised by his uncle who treated him badly... So what is there to hide?' Eren wonders.

"You're quiet," Mikasa notes.

"Yeah," Eren replies.

"What are you thinking about?" she asks.

"Nothing much," Eren tells her. "Just Levi."

"Good or bad?" Mikasa inquires.

"I'm not sure," Eren answers.

They talk about Levi for a while, and by the time they reach the school, they are somehow on the topic of proposals.

"If you were to ask to marry him, how would you do it?" Mikasa asks.

"I'd probably give him roses and a ring after a short walk to a nice view," Eren explains.

"Ooh, fancy!" Mikasa teases.

"Shut up," he retorts.

They laugh at each other and head to class. Each of them makes it through the day, even though Eren has a hard time. Mikasa has practice today, so she says goodbye to Armin and Eren, and goes to the school gym. Eren tells Armin that he'll see him later, and leaves. During history, Levi had written a note to Eren to meet him at the corner of two nearby streets.

As Eren leans on a light post to wait, Levi pulls up in his car.

"Uhg, those things are filthy. How can you stand to touch them?" the older man asks as he rolls down his window.

"And hello to you, too," Eren laughs, getting into the car.

"So, where to?" Levi asks.

"Let's go to the park," Eren suggests.

"Alright," Levi replies.

He eases his foot onto the gas, and steers the car away from the curb. Levi drives them to the other side of town and they stop at a local park. They step out of the car and walk along a path into the woods.

Levi in his suit, Eren in his skinny jeans and baggy hoodie. They're an odd combination.

"Show me your wrist, Eren," Levi orders.

Eren reluctantly pulls his right sleeve up and reveals the cuts on his wrist to Levi as they walk. The older man frowns.

"Oh, Eren. I wish there was a way that I could stop this. But the best I can do is offer help and reassurance," Levi says, gazing at the scars, both recent and old.

Eren his arm again.

"Have you ever been addicted to something?" Eren asks.

"…Yes. I used to smoke," Levi tells him.

"How did you stop?" Eren asks.

"I tried. I had to use every ounce of determination I had, and I needed a reason to, but I did stop," Levi says.

"…I have tried. I still do it, though," Eren complains.

"It took me a few times to quit for real," Levi says.

"Do you think I can?" Eren asks.

"I think you can do anything if you try to," Levi says, turning his head to look at Eren.

"...Thank you, Levi," Eren chokes out.

They continue in silence for a while longer. They enjoy each other's company and simply walk through the park. They look at the wildlife together, smell a few flowers, and make a few jokes before leaving the park.

"I'll drive you home, again," Levi claims.

"Thank you, Levi," Eren replies.

They get in the car and Levi takes Eren home, only making seven wrong turns. They arrive at Eren's house just as the sun begins to set.

"Damn sense of direction," Levi grumbles.

Eren laughs. "Hey, at least we're here."

"Finally," Levi growls.

"I'll see you... Tomorrow, at the concert, right? You'll pick me up?" Eren asks.

"Oh, yeah, I'll be here around six tomorrow afternoon. Does that sound good?" Levi asks, glancing between Eren's eyes and his lips. "I have to get there early to set up and stuff."

"Okay, yeah," Eren replies, noticing Levi's gaze. "I'll be ready."

"Eren?" Levi calls, just as the younger man reaches for the door handle.

"Yes, Levi?" he responds.

Levi gruffly pulls Eren close by wrapping his hand behind Eren's head. Their lips clumsily smash against each other, and they hold it for a second before pulling apart again. But then, just as Levi starts bumbling on about how he shouldn't have done that, how it was uncalled for and inappropriate, Eren grins and kisses Levi again. This time though, they are more graceful, and each of them lean into the kiss over the console.

"Levi!" Eren murmurs, once they break apart.

"Hm?" Levi asks, slowly opening his eyes.

"You're amazing," Eren says. "I mean, I've never kissed anyone before, but still..."

"Yeah, you're fantastic too. Kissing you felt more right than any of the other kisses I've had," Levi claims.

They smile sightly at each other before Eren steps out of the car.

"Thanks," Eren calls before closing the door.

"You're welcome, brat," Levi replies, driving away after Eren waves from the frame of his front door.

"So, how was it?" Eren's Mom asks.

"Fun," he replies.

"That's good. Now, go upstairs and do your homework; you don't want to have to do it on Sunday, now do you?" she says.

Eren takes his backpack up to his room and rifles through it to find his homework. He takes it out and slams it onto his desk. He sits down and finishes it all, only taking a break to eat dinner.

"So Eren, you're going to another concert tomorrow?" his Dad asks.

"Yeah," Eren replies, "and Mr. R is going to pick me up and drop me off."

"Great. Just make sure that if you have sex, you're safe about it!" Carla says.

"Okay, Mom. Great. Will do," Eren replies, waving goodnight to both his parents before going upstairs and getting ready for bed.

Since Levi yelled at the class, the bullying has gotten slightly better. Eren hasn't been getting as many texts. There's only one when checks his phone before he goes to bed.

Text From: Reiner  
U nd Mr. R r lying faggots.

Text From: Eren  
Wipe your mouth, Reiner

Text From: Reiner   
Why?

Text From: Eren   
I think there's still a little bit of bullshit around it

No reply. Eren feels triumphant. He picks up the box from his closet and tosses it into the garbage; no more cutting. Not any more.


	11. A Night at the Club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi invites Eren to one of the Recon Core's performances, and Levi drinks a little too much afterwards.

Eren wakes up late and gets dressed. He receives his chore assignment from Mikasa, eats breakfast, and completes his duties. Afterwards, he cleans up his room and then starts to get ready for the concert.

Eren takes a quick shower, and painfully drags a comb through his tangled hair. He puts on a grey tank top with the RC logo on it and a red flannel shirt. He wears dark blue jeggings, and puts bracelets and rubber bangles on his wrists to cover up the cuts and scars since he's choosing to roll up the sleeves on his flannel shirt. He eats a hurried dinner of left-overs, and does the dishes. Then, Eren runs upstairs to grab a beanie and a black and grey jacket.

He sits in his room, listening to music, and watches the street from his window as he sketches a new drawing.

Levi's car pulls up in front of the house at 5:50. No one gets out until exactly 6 o'clock, when Levi steps out of his car and walks up to Eren's front door.

Eren watches as Levi presses the doorbell. He sprints downstairs and flies past his parents to fling the door open.

"Hi Levi!" he pants.

"Um, hi Eren," Levi replies, confused by Eren's "just-ran-as-fast-as-I-could-and-almost-tripped" expression and demeanor.

"Sorry, just let me get my shoes on," Eren says, pulling on his favorite black converse.

"Alright, let's go," Eren says, standing up and walking out of the front door.

"Thank you, Mr. R!" Carla calls as Eren closes the door. "Have fun Eren!"

"Okay, Mom!" Eren replies.

"It's no trouble," Levi responds at the same moment.

Levi opens the door for Eren, who gets into the car blushing and muttering a thank you.

Levi gets behind the wheel, and they drive to the club. They pull up and go through the back entrance. This time, Eren actually looks around at the structure of the building. The room behind the stage is dark, lit by only two bare light bulbs. There are two banks of lockers, similar to those in the school. They are painted a light blue, but some of the paint is chipping on the corners and edges.

"Levi! Eren!" Hanji calls. "You're here!"

"Together," Erwin notes.

"Yes," Levi says simply.

"Eren, how about you go help Mike set up the tech stuff while we all get changed," Levi suggests.

"A-alright," Eren replies. Truthfully, he'd like to stay and watch Levi get changed. But since Levi asked him to leave, he will.

"Oh, hey Eren," Mike says when Eren walks up to him.

"Hi Mike," the young boy replies.

"Why are you here?" Mike asks.

"Levi invited me, and he asked me to help you set up while gets ready," Eren explains.

"Oh, okay," Mike says, the way his eyes shift towards the lockers and then back at Eren making the young man slightly confused.

They set up the last of the equipment, and Eren goes back to the locker bay with secret hopes to see Levi undressing again. Sadly, the older man is already in his performance outfit.

"What time is it?" Levi asks Eren.

He checks the clock that's on the wall behind Levi.

"6:50," Eren reads.

"Alright, we're on in ten. Eren, go out to the bar and take a seat…If you could, would you want to dance with me during a song?" Levi asks.

"I'd love to!" Eren replies.

"Great. I'll hold out my arm to you while I'm on stage. Just get a spot in the front," Levi says.

Erwin helps Levi tie on his eye bandages, and they get onto place as the regular announcements begin. Eren heads out into the club and gets as close to the stage as possible. The curtains soon open to reveal the Recon Core in all their sexy glory.

They play their first two songs, but Eren doesn't get invited up yet. But during the third, which is an upbeat song that is easy to dance to, Levi holds out his hand to Eren.

The young boy takes it eagerly, and pulls himself up onto the stage. He dances with Levi to whoops and shouts from the crowd. Eren even sings the harmony to a few lines. And Levi notices that Eren isn't a bad dancer; or singer, for that matter.

After this song ends, the band's time is up, since their performance was longer, this time. The curtain closes, and Eren follows Levi as he waves the younger man backstage. They head into the locker bay, and Levi pulls off his bandages.

"You were great," he remarks.

"Thanks, Levi! So were you!" Eren gushes. "I didn't know you could see out of those."

"Yeah," Levi answers, "I can see through a few cracks in the fabric."

"Cool," the young man says.

"Would you mind, er, helping take down the set?" Levi asks as he begins to unbutton his shirt. He took off his cravat and jacket during the performance.

"Oh, yeah. I get why you don't want me to see you changing," Eren claims.

"Oh? And why's that?" Levi asks, trying to hide the anxiety in his voice, but not quite succeeding.

"Because of the first time we actually really met," Eren replies.

"Mhm," Levi says, "you're right. But it also has a bit to do with my insecurities."

Erwin and Hanji look over.

"Are you finally gonna tell him?" Hanji asks.

"Tell me what? What insecurities?" Eren inquires.

"Oh, nothing. I'll… I'll tell you another time. It's just... please go help Mike," Levi asks anxiously.

"O-okay," Eren stammers, noticing Levi's fearful attitude.

Eren walks away to help pack up the equipment.

"You're going to have to tell him eventually, Levi," Erwin says as Eren leaves.

"I know. But that's not who I am anymore, and like they say, better to leave the past buried, right?" Levi defends.

"Not always," Hanji replies.

~+~+~+~

Eren finishes taking down the set with Mike. Then he goes backstage again, and notices something that he hasn't thought about before; the band all get changed in the same area, within full view of each other. Is Hanji just not Erwin's type? Do they not look at each other? Are they really just that okay with their bodies in front of their closest friends? And Levi didn't want to let Eren see him undressed, but he's fine with Hanji or Erwin? And they were taking about a secret insecurity that Levi has. Could it be something to do with his body? Eren has already seem him shirtless, twice, so it's got to be something below the belt...

"Are you ready to go spend some time in the club?" Levi asks, startling Eren from his thought process.

"Oh, yeah! I didn't realize we were going to!" Eren says shyly.

"Of course! What did you think we did after performances? Go home and relax? No! We party. Now come on, you've still got time before you have to be back home," Levi tells him, wrapping his arm around Eren's waist.

Hanji, Mike, and Erwin laugh and follow Levi and Eren out into the club.

Once they step past the adoring fans who demand to know who Eren is ("He's my boyfriend, ladies," Levi tells them) they step up to the bar.

"You guys were great, as always! And Eren, what're you doing here? Where's Mikasa?" Justice asks.

"I'm Levi's boyfriend, and he took me here alone. Mikasa's at home," Eren explains.

"Oh! I thought your sister was kidding when she told me you were gay. I guess not," he says.

"Yeah, no," Eren says.

"Hey, could I have a glass of your favorite red wine? Hanji, Erwin, Mike, what do you want?" Levi asks.

"Screwdriver for me, please," Hanji says.

"And I'll have a beer; Bud Light," Erwin specifies.

"Alright, and how about you, Mike? Eren?" Justice asks, writing down the orders in a small notebook.

"I'd like a beer too, but a Blue Ribbon," Mike says.

"I don't have any money," Eren claims.

"That's alright, kid. You're with the band, so your drink's on house," Justice explains.

"Thanks, Justice! In that case, I'd like a Roy Rodgers, please," Eren asks.

"Coming right up," Justice says, going away to make the group's drinks.

He comes back to the counter and hands them over.

"To yet another good show," Mike says, raising his glass.

"Aye!" "Yes indeed," "to another," and, "mhm," the group replies.

They drink, crack jokes, and laugh until Eren gets a text from his mother at eleven, telling him that she and Grisha are going to sleep, and that Eren had better be home by midnight.

Text From: Eren   
Alright mom I will

"I've got to be home in an hour, but my family is going to sleep now, so I'm 'on my honor,' as my Mom would say," Eren tells the half-drunk group.

"A'ight, Jaeger!" Levi slurs.

"Is he okay, sir?" Eren asks Erwin.

"Yeah, he's fine. Drunk, that's all. Hope you can drive, kid!" Erwin tells him, a little drunk, himself.

Eren pales. He has a driver's license, but his parents hardly ever let him use it. Besides, how is he supposed to take care of Levi?

"Um, I think it's best if Levi and I go now, then. I'll drive," Eren says.

"Okay! See ya Monday, Levi," Hanji calls.

"Uh-huh," Levi says with a loose wave.

Eren helps Levi off the stool, and helps him steady himself. He pulls him out the front door, and grabs Levi's car keys from his pocket.

"Eren," Levi grumbles as Eren fishes Levi's keys from his pocket.

"Yes Levi?" Eren asks.

"What're ya doin'?"

"I'm going to drive you to my place; you can spend the night there," Eren claims.

"But why?" Levi inquires.

"Because you're drunk, Levi," Eren says.

"No'm not," Levi slurs, tripping on the curb as they cross the street to get to Levi's car.

"Yes, you are," Eren says, unlocking the slim, black Lexus and pushing the older man into the passenger seat.

Eren clicks the seat belt in for Levi, and locks it. Then Eren comes around the front of the car like they taught him to in driver's ed, and steps behind the wheel. He closes the door and buckles in, gripping the wheel at "10 and 2". Eren slips the key into the ignition to start the car, and feels the engine rumble below his feet. He takes a deep breath and gently presses his foot onto the gas. The car lurches forward, and Eren slams on the gas.

"Oi! Careful, brat! Just 'cuz I'm drunk, don't mean I can't feel you jerkin' my car around!" Levi yells indignantly.

"Sorry! Sorry! I'm just getting the hang of it," Eren apologizes.

He carefully presses on the gas again, this time taking more control of wheel. He gets them to his house eventually, carefully avoiding other cars and busy streets. He pulls up to the curb on the street outside his house, and gets out of the car. Then, he helps Levi out. Eren locks the car and supports Levi up to the large front door. The young man fishes his own keys from his pocket, and unlocks the house.

Once inside, Eren slips off his shoes and helps Levi with his. They stumble up the stairs.

"Where are we, brat?" Levi asks.

"Shh! Quiet! We're at my house," Eren explains, glancing towards his parents' bedroom nervously.

"'Shh!'" Levi mimics, pressing a finger to his lips.

"Come on," Eren whispers, leading Levi to his room and ignoring Levi's mumbled protests.

He takes Levi's jacket, tie, and belt off, to only a few weak comments. Eren folds them and puts them in a pile on top of his desk. He lies Levi down in his bed, and pulls the covers over him. Just as Levi starts to fall asleep, Eren kisses his forehead gently.

Eren grabs his pajamas and walks out of his room, closing the door behind him. He walks to the bathroom and changes his clothes. Eren brushes his teeth, and leaves. He drops his own clothes in a pile by the door to his room and can hear Levi's steady breathing through it.

Eren walks downstairs and grabs a spare blanket from the linen closet. He lies down on the couch in the living room, and pulls the blanket over himself. He falls asleep eventually, on top of the scratchy cushions of the couch with his neck propped up at an uncomfortable angle.


	12. Is It Love?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carla isn't exactly happy about Levi crashing in Eren's bed, but she doesn't give the young man much of a punishment.

"Eren? Why are you sleeping on the couch? And... if you're here, who's in your room?" Mikasa asks, shaking Eren awake in the morning.

"Wha-? Oh. Levi got drunk last night," Eren explains, sitting up and rubbing his stiff neck.

"What?! Did he drive?" Mikasa asks worriedly.

"No, I did. After the concert, I drank a few sodas while the Recon Core drank their drinks. At about eleven, I got a text from Mom. I decided to go home, but Levi was too drunk to do much. So, I took his keys and drove us home. I let him sleep in my room, since I figured it'd be more comfortable than this, and because your room is the guest room. I figured that I'd be in less trouble getting yelled at for letting my drunk boyfriend spend the night, than if I had let him drive himself home, or spent the night at his place," Eren says.

"You're right, but I'm still not happy with you," Eren's mother says from the doorway to the living room.

"Oh, hi Mom… I didn't see you there," Eren says.

"Hm. So Levi is asleep in your room, and he's probably going to have a hell of a hangover today, huh?" she asks.

"Uh, yeah, I guess," Eren says.

"Well, since you took the liberty of letting him stay here, you get to take care of breakfast for him, and the rest of our family," Carla says.

"Okay, Mom," Eren replies.

"I'm going to the gym," Mikasa says.

"And I'm going back to bed," Eren's mother says, "since I don't have to take care of breakfast for anyone."

Eren winces. "Alright."

They leave, and Eren gets up to start making food. He puts on a white apron that outlines his figure. He never wears a shirt to bed, so all he's wearing is socks, pajama pants, and the dirty white apron. He takes out a large pan and a carton of eggs. Eren makes two slices of bread for everyone, and two eggs each. He takes butter out of the fridge, salt and pepper from the cupboard, and jam from the pantry. He gets out enough plates for everyone, and starts loading them with food.

Eren sets a portion of eggs and two slices of toast on each plate. He puts a fork on each plate, and walks into the dining room to set them on the table. He freezes when he sees Levi leaning against a wall.

"So, Eren, where am I? What happened last night, after my fourth drink? And why aren't you wearing a shirt?" Levi asks, his eyes raking across Eren's body.

"Uh, well, we left the club, I took your keys, and I drove us here. You slept in my room, and the rest of your clothes are on my desk, if you didn't see them. I don't like to wear a shirt while I sleep, and since I thought you were in my room, I didn't go up to get dressed," Eren explains.

"…Okay, thanks," Levi says after a moment. "So, nothing happened between us? You didn't... learn anything?"

"Nothing except the fact that you act like a toddler when you're drunk," Eren says.

Levi sighs. He's relieved. But why?

"Did you make breakfast?" Levi asks.

"Oh, yeah! Here," Eren says, handing Levi a plate.

"Thanks," he says, taking it from Eren's outstretched hand.

Levi takes a bite of the eggs, and tells Eren that they're amazing.

"Thank you, Levi!" Eren exclaims.

"Mhm," Levi says, sitting down at the table.

Eren eats his eggs and toast, too. They finish their meal, and Eren decides to ask a question that has been nagging him for a while.

"Levi, what are you trying to hide from me?" Eren asks.

"You're asking me now?" Levi splutters.

"Yes; no one else is around, and you've been acting strangely. I want to know what's up," Eren says.

"…Alright, Jaeger. But you had better not tell anyone, not even your parents or Mikasa," Levi growls reluctantly.

"If you don't want me to, I won't," Eren claims.

"I am not who I once was, Eren," Levi says.

"What do you mean?" Eren asks.

"I'm... Well, I was Livian, until my uncle took me in," Levi says.

"What?" Eren asks, confused.

"I was born female, but when I had the chance to be the guy I've always really been, I took it," Levi explains.

"You're... trans?" Eren exclaims.

"Yes," the older man answers nervously.

"But... You don't look like a woman at all… Or act like one... And you don't have boobs…" Eren trails off.

"No; I lower my voice when I talk, and I got a breast reduction," Levi says.

"So... Are you still... Do you still have girl parts down there, then?" Eren asks.

"Yes, I still have a vagina," Levi says with disdain.

"Do you... Not like it?" Eren asks, blushing because of all of the fantasies he's had before.

"God, no! I want to get bottom surgery, but I don't have the money," Levi says.

"Oh," Eren replies sadly. 

It is at this moment that Grisha comes downstairs with Eren's Mom.

"Mr. R!" he exclaims when he sees the short man sitting at the table.

"Oh, hello Grisha," Levi says, standing to shake his hand. "Carla."

"Good morning, Levi," she replies.

"I've made breakfast!" Eren pipes up.

"Great," Carla says, going into the kitchen with Eren's Dad to get their plates.

Everyone sits at the table, and an awkward silence settles over the group.

"Eren, why don't you go put on a shirt," Carla suggests.

"But I don't want to, Mom! Besides, you never make me wear a shirt other times," Eren argues, earning a raised eyebrow from Levi.

"But you have a guest, Eren," his mother points out, a hint of danger to her voice.

"I… I don't mind," Levi interrupts.

Carla and Grisha shift their glare towards him.

"Fine, then our son can walk around half-naked to show off to you!" Grisha says.

"No, that's not - Dr. Jaeger, I only meant to say that Eren should be allowed to do what he finds comfortable," Levi explains.

"I see. Eren, do you want to wear a shirt?" Carla asks.

"No. You know I don't like shirts," Eren says immediately. "Why is this even a big deal?"

"…You're right, it isn't that important whether you wear a shirt or not," Carla admits.

"Thank you," Eren says.

It's a small victory, but he feels triumphant nonetheless.

They finish their breakfast, and Eren goes upstairs to his room to change, after cleaning up the breakfast dishes. Levi's jacket, tie, and belt are right where Eren left them. He picks up the pile of yesterday's clothes that he left outside the door, and drops them into his clothes hamper. It's only half-full, so he'll just do his laundry next weekend.

Eren pulls on a black band tee and regular boot-cut jeans. He walks back downstairs to find his parents talking to Levi.

"Is this the first time you've fallen in love with a student, Levi?" Grisha asks. It still sounds like he's testing out Mr. R's first name.

"Yes. Actually, this is the first time I've ever fallen in love," Levi answers wistfully.

"Really?" Carla asks.

"Yes," Levi nods.

Eren stops eavesdropping and decides to walk into the living room and join them now.

"Oh, hello Eren! Your father and I were just talking to Levi," Carla says.

"Okay, Mom," the boy replies.

"Eren, where is your sister?" Levi asks.

"Oh, Mikasa's at the gym," Eren says.

"Honey, did she eat?" Carla questions.

"Yeah, she grabbed a granola bar before she left, I think," Eren says. And it's true; he does remember seeing her grab one before she walked out the door.

"Good," she replies.

"Well, thank you for allowing me too spend the night. And Eren, thank you very much for coming to the concert," Levi says, standing.

Everyone says their goodbyes and Eren walks Levi to front door. His parents watch through the window as Eren and Levi kiss before the older man gets into his car.

"Eren, can we talk to you for a moment?" Carla asks once Eren closes front door.

'What did they find out?' he thinks. "Sure."

"What do you feel towards Levi, son?" Grisha asks.

"I- I'm not sure. It's more than a crush, that's for sure. All I know is that it hurt so much before we started dating, and I wish I was with him all the time," Eren tries to explain.

"…I see," Eren's father says.

Grisha and Carla exchange a glance. Eren's father nods.

"If you and Levi want to take your relationship farther, you have our permission. Not that we could stop you even if we wanted to," Carla says.

"Th-thanks," Eren stutters. He isn't sure what they mean yet, but he appreciates it.

Eren carries on with the rest of his day normally. But something feels different... There's an ever-growing suspicion in Eren that he might be in love with Levi. He heard the older man say that he loves Eren. It would make sense of quite a few things.

~+~+~+~

Levi pulls up in front of the familiar dilapidated building that is his home, and through the same hallways to his apartment. As he opens his front door, Hanji throws their own open and screeches. Levi knew he'd regret being Hanji's next-door neighbor when Hanji first moved in.

"Oh-ho! So how did it go with Eren?" Hanji asks.

"Fuck off," Levi growls.

"You're missing your coat, tie, and belt. Something happened," Hanji points out.

"Tch. I forgot to get them. Honestly, I don't remember anything well after my fourth drink," Levi admits.

"Where did you spend the night?" Hanji asks.

"His house," Levi claims.

"Where in his house?" Hanji probes.

"Damn; this sounds... better than it was. I slept in his bed, but he slept on the couch. At least, that's what he told me, and it makes sense," Levi grumbles.

"So anything could've happened and you don't know," Hanji points out.

"…Yes," Levi reluctantly admits. "Although, this morning I told him that I'm trans, and he didn't seem to have known it before."

"Shit, Levi! How'd he take it?" Hanji questions.

"He was fine about it. But listen Hanji, I've got a pounding headache and I've got to get ready for school tomorrow. Please leave me alone," Levi begs.

"Alright, but I'm questioning you both on Tuesday; make sure he comes to rehearsal!" Hanji crows.

"Fine, just leave me alone," Levi growls.

He finally gets inside his apartment and makes himself a cup of tea.

"No matter how much I see of that brat, he makes my heart beat faster every time," Levi mutters under his breath.


	13. Cutting Once Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren's depression resurfaces.

Monday morning comes, and both men awake to thoughts of the other. They complete their morning routines and get to school.

Text From: Levi   
Don't come to my classroom this morning

Text From: Eren   
K

Eren talks to Armin and Mikasa in the front hallway of school until the first bell rings, sending the students off to first period.

Eren forces himself to ignore the taunts and bullying from his classmates, as more of them had gotten ahold of Petra's video over the weekend. Eren can do nothing right now but try not to let his hurt or indignation show. In second period, he ends up scratching his wrist with a paper clip under the table with enough force to barely break the skin. Almost anything can be a weapon if you know how to use it.

Eren steps inside Levi's classroom between bells to see him in his usual position, but not actually reading. The bell signaling the start of class rings, and Levi stands, placing his novel and glasses on the corner of his desk. He teaches the lesson, looking at Eren frequently.

After class, Eren slows down so that he's one of the last to leave. He slowly passes by Mr. R, who, much to Eren's disappointment, doesn't say anything.

'Did I do something?' Eren wonders. 'Is it my fault?'

He goes over most of the possibilities in his head throughout the day. Could Levi still be hungover? Not likely. Is he not into Eren anymore? That could be it, but based on what he told Eren's parents, that's unlikely too.

What could be wrong?

Even with Mr. R's attempts to put a stop to the bullying, it continues even worse than before. Although Petra herself has stopped being rude, many of the other girls have seen the video and have taken her place.

The masses are merciless.

Almost as soon as school ends, Eren texts Levi.

Text From: Eren  
Can i stay after?

Text From: Levi   
I'd prefer it if you didn't, Eren.

Text From: Eren   
R u upset with me?

Text From: Levi   
No

Text From: Eren   
Then wats wrong Levi?

Text From: Levi   
Your punctuation. Please, Eren, just leave me alone.

Text From: Eren   
Fine but I deserve to kno

Text From: Levi   
Thank you, and yes you do.

Eren decides to pass Levi's room on his way to the buses anyway. But when he peers through the window, Levi and Hanji are sitting side by side and talking. Eren can't make out their words very well. Hanji takes Levi's hand and they look into each other's eyes as they talk, which causes Eren to run to his bus as he tries to hold back the fear, anger, abs loneliness that threaten him.

He makes it home without breaking down, and finishes his homework. Eren eats dinner, despite his reluctance, and gets ready for bed. He checks his phone to some more hateful messages, but one number is new.

Text From: (###)###-####  
Kill yourself faggot; Mr. R isn't ever gonna like you back.

With this, Eren can't take it anymore. He starts sobbing, and fumbles in his closet for his blades. Then he remembers that he threw them away. He checks the trash and fishes the small box out.

Eren pulls out a particularly jagged blade, and walks to the bathroom like usual. He hasn't showered yet, so that will be his cover. He steps into the bathroom and locks the door behind him. He turns on the water and sets his clothes in a neat pile on the counter. Eren steps under the stream, blade in hand.

One slice. Two. Three. It's not enough.

'Maybe they're right, and Levi doesn't actually love me. Maybe I'm an idiot. This isn't the first time someone suggested that I kill myself,' Eren thinks. 'I don't deserve to live anymore. Like they've said, I'm just a waste of time.'

He flips his wrists over and slices them horizontally, but deep. Much deeper than ever before. So deep that Eren gasps when the blood gushes out. He falls into the shower floor eventually, due to the blood loss. The doorknob jiggles, and Eren tries to call for help, but his voice won't work. His vision is darkening around the edges, and suddenly the door bursts open. Mikasa stands in the frame, Grisha and Carla behind her. As soon as they see Eren lying on the bathroom floor, blood pouring out of the cuts on his wrist, Carla screams and runs to call an ambulance. Grisha rushes forward and procures the bathroom first aid kit. He shuts off the water and the last thing Eren sees before he blacks out is his father standing over him, shaking his shoulder, telling him not to go to sleep.

~+~+~+~

Eren wakes up to smell of harsh disinfectants, and sickness. He opens his eyes to white and pastel surrounding him. In a chair beside the bed, a man has jumped up and is calling a nurse over.

"L-Levi?" Eren calls weakly.

"Yes, Eren I'm here," Levi responds, taking Eren's hand.

A nurse in light blue scrubs rushes in. She sees Eren and asks him if he's feeling alright. The boy nods his head slightly.

"Alright. Do you want me to fetch your family?" the young woman asks.

"I kinda just wanna be with Levi for a bit," Eren rasps.

"Alright," she says before leaving the room.

Levi takes a cup of water from Eren's bedside and hands it to Eren, who drinks it all thirstily.

"Why are you here?" Eren asks.

"Why are you here?" Levi counters, emphasizing the word, "you".

"I… I guess I cut too deep," Eren mutters reluctantly, under Levi's intense but worried gaze.

The older man sighs.

"Why?" Levi asks.

"Because... because of… the bullying," Eren slowly admits.

"I see. I thought they had stopped?" Levi states.

"The kids in our class did," Eren says, looking away.

"What was the thing that pushed you over the edge?" Levi asks quietly.

"The... Someone I don't know texted me," Eren admits.

"What did they say?"

"'Kill yourself, faggot,'" Eren quotes.

"That obviously isn't all, so what else did they say?" Levi asks angrily.

"…'Mr. R isn't ever gonna like you back,'" Eren continues.

"Oh, Eren," Levi says.

Levi pulls the boy into a tight embrace. They both start crying and just holding each other. At some point in the conversation, Levi had taken a seat on the side of Eren's bed. They sit together for a long time.

"Levi," Eren says.

"Hm?"

"Would you please go get my family?" Eren asks.

"Sure, Eren," Levi says, smiling as he pulls away and wipes his face clean.

Eren does the same, and notices that his wrists are throbbing. The bandages are really tight.

Eren's family walk into the room, and Levi follows behind.

"Eren!" Carla cries, "Oh, baby."

"I'm alright now, Mom," he tells her, giving a weak smile.

"What was the last straw?" Grisha asks.

Eren glances at Levi quickly.

"An anonymous text," Eren explains.

"Hm," Mikasa growls.

Eren notices that they all have bags under their eyes.

"What time is it?" he asks.

"Five in the morning," Levi says, checking his watch.

"Have you guys been here all night?!" Eren asks.

"Of course," Mikasa answers.

"No! Go home, go to bed. Especially you, Levi! You should be at school!" Eren exclaims.

"I'm not going anywhere," Levi says.

"Come on; what good is sitting here gonna do? The kids at school will just get more suspicious," Eren claims.

"…You're right," Levi reluctantly admits.

"Yeah, so go to school," Eren orders.

"Fine, brat," Levi responds, moving close to kiss Eren on the forehead before leaving. "I'm going to text you."

"Alright, now go!" Eren says.

Levi walks out, leaving Eren alone with his family.

"Son, are you alright?" Grisha eventually asks.

"Of course he's not alright! He tried to commit suicide!" Carla bursts.

"I'm better, now," Eren says.

"Why now?" Mikasa asks.

"Because I know that whatever happens," Eren says, "Levi will be there for me. He loves me; and I love him. And the same goes for you guys."

~+~+~+~

Mikasa and Carla leave to get Mikasa to school. Eren's dad works at the hospital, so he keeps checking in on him.

Eren drifts in and out of sleep, watching TV. He wonders what Levi is doing in class today. And Levi is wondering if Eren's alright.

At school, rumors have started spreading. Most people think that Eren was sick or on vacation. Eventually, in third period, Levi hears Petra mutter under her breath, "Maybe he did us all a favor and killed himself."

Levi casually walks towards her, his expression giving away his fury.

"The hell did you just say, Ral?" Levi growls.

"I'm sorry sir, I thought there was nothing between you and Jaeger?" she says sarcastically.

"That's not what you said. And what you don't know that Eren is sitting in a hospital bed right now, with his wrists stitched up, because of you!" Levi says, his teeth gritted.

Levi never talks like that. Everyone is terrified, but most of all Petra. The expression on her face is perfect.

Levi sighs and sits back down behind his desk again. He puts his face in his hands and sits there for a moment. The class sits still, stunned into silence.

"Keep working on your worksheets," Mr. R orders. "I've got to use the bathroom."

The students go back to their work, and Levi leaves the classroom. He walks to the bathroom quickly. He closes and locks the door and collapses to the floor. Silent tears slide down his face.

'What did I do? How can I help him?' Levi asks himself.

But he knows there isn't much that he can do on his own.

Levi stands and washes off his face. He hasn't cried in ages, and it feels kind of nice. He walks back to class slowly, and his students look up when they hear the door opens again.

"Go back to work," Levi barks.


	14. Petra's Fault

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren in the hospital, and later going back to school.

"Is Eren really in the hospital?" "What really happened?" "I'm so sorry," people say to Armin, Mr. R, and especially Mikasa. They are only people who actually know Eren.

"Yes, he tried to commit suicide. And it's all Petra's fault," Levi answers.

"I don't know any more than you guys," is Armin's reply.

"Eren cut his wrists for a long time because of bullying. Last night, he tried to cut a little too deep," Mikasa says.

After school, Levi is distracted all throughout practice, worrying about Eren. His band mates notice.

"Hey, Levi, where are your cadets?" Erwin asks.

"Petra had her privilege revoked," Levi answers.

"Why? And what about Eren?" Hanji questions.

"…Eren tried to kill himself," Levi chokes out. "And it's all Ral's fault. She started the bullying."

Levi sits on a stool. He presses his knuckles to his mouth and tries to hold back his tears, his throat tightening to stop sobs from escaping his lips.

"Oh, Levi," Hanji says, rushing over to him.

"I'm fine, guys," Levi says in his true voice.

But if he can help it, he never uses his female voice.

"Levi, why don't you go home. You need to. Or go see Eren," Erwin suggests.

Levi nods, and packs up his stuff to go. "Thanks, guys. I'm glad I have you."

They smile sadly and wave goodbye, knowing now how much Eren means to Levi.

~+~+~+~

"Levi!" Eren calls, as the short man steps into view.

"Hi Eren," he replies. "I had some trouble with the receptionist; she recognized me and wanted an autograph."

"So, how was school?" Eren laughs.

"Fine."

"C'mon, tell me the truth," Eren says.

"It was awful. I snapped in third period," Levi claims.

"What happened?" Eren asks.

"Just a little comment by Petra," Levi says, his jaw tightening and his hand balling into a fist as he remembers what she said.

"Aw, Levi. Gettin' soft?" Eren asks.

"Shut up, brat," Levi says, turning his head away, but smirking.

Eren pouts, which makes Levi feel a little guilty. But Eren deserved it. Levi isn't soft; not anymore. He can't afford it. If he's soft, he'll probably end up like Eren, right now. But in the morgue, not the hospital.

"Mr. Jaeger, is this man bothering you?" a young nurse asks, coming into the room.

"No sir, he's my boyfriend," Eren replies.

"Oh. I'll leave you two alone, then," he says, walking out after glancing between the couple, surprised.

"You see, where I grew up, no one would act like that when they found out you were gay. No one was gay. And if you were, you were considered less than human. So I never thought I'd be…" Levi trails off.

"Come here," Eren orders.

Levi comes to sit beside Eren. You sure are something special, if Levi lets you be dominant that easily.

"Closer," Eren asks.

Levi leans in close enough for Eren to whisper in his ear. But that's not what happens. Eren grabs Levi's collar, and pulls him into a deep kiss. Levi stiffens for a second, but then he relaxes into Eren's chest. He presses his tongue against Eren's soft lips, which part on contact. They make out for a solid few minutes. The couple finally pulls apart, happy and out of breath. They embrace each other and sit in silence, regaining their breath.

"I'm glad you're gay," Eren mutters in Levi's ear.

"I am too," he replies.

"Good afternoon, Levi," Grisha says, walking in just as Levi stands back up.

Thank God he walked in just now, and not a second earlier.

"Hello Grisha," Levi says, clearing his throat and backing up to lean against the wall.

"Eren, we can go now. It's the end of my shift, and since you talked to a therapist earlier, you can come with me," Grisha says.

Even though he only walked in while the couple was hugging, he seemed to know what had happened.

"Great! Can I go to school tomorrow, then?" Eren asks.

"Yes. But I'll be having a word with the principle," Eren's Dad says.

"Please do; I would, but I appreciate my job," Levi cuts in.

"Hm. Right," Grisha says.

He unhooks Eren from the IV and the monitors, and helps him check out. Levi holds Eren around the waist as they leave, earning a surprised stare from the receptionist. Just to annoy her, he kisses Eren on the cheek as soon as the last signature is written, officially checking Eren out, and says, "You're free, babe."

Eren's Dad looks at them and chuckles.

Levi says goodbye to Eren and Grisha, who get into their silver Toyota Corolla. Levi slips into his Lexus. They drive to their respective homes, and finish their days. For once, there is only one message on Eren's phone when he checks it before bed.

Text From: Petra  
Im so sorry

~+~+~+~

Eren wakes up and gets dressed like usual. He wears jeans and a grey t-shirt, with a sports hoodie over it. He eats his breakfast, and observes the stitches on his wrists; five each. After he cleans up, he and Mikasa get into her jeep and drive to school.

"Eren, Mikasa! How are you?" Armin asks, coming up to them.

"Fine," they both reply.

"So, um, why weren't you here yesterday Eren?" Armin asks.

"Did you not listen to me yesterday?" Mikasa asks, annoyed.

"I-I did, but I just... So you really did try to kill yourself?" Armin questions wearily.

"The hell? Who else did you tell, Mikasa?!" Eren bursts.

"Only a few people, but you know how fast rumors travel," Mikasa defends.

"Mhm, sure," Eren says.

"Why?" Armin interjects.

"First of all, I didn't really mean to kill myself, I just cut too deeply," Eren claims.

"I heard you were bullied," Armin says.

"Yeah," Eren replies.

The bell rings and they all head to first period.

Eren endures the interrogations and stares from his classmates, and accepts the apologies from some of the bullies. By third period, most of the school knows what happened. But none of them except for Mikasa and Eren know how bad it really was.

Eren steps into Levi's classroom and locks eyes with Mr. R. He walks right up to the teacher's desk and asks why they can't come out as a couple. The classroom is loud enough before the bell that no one hears.

"I thought you were being bullied about it," Levi says.

"I won't be, once they see my wrists," Eren claims.

"Fine. But know that I'm not allowed to give you better grades, or any treatment different from the other students," Levi responds.

"Okay," Eren says.

The bell rings, and everyone settles in their seats, except for Eren.

"Apparently, you've all figured out what happened to me yesterday and the night before," Eren starts. "And it's true; I tried to kill myself. Because of a series of texts and comments."

"Why are you saying that? We already know," Reiner interrupts.

"Yes. But the thing is, some of those really got to me...because Mr. R and I actually are together," Eren says.

"Yeah, we know. That's why you got bullied," Ymir claims. "And it'll just get worse now that you've come out."

Eren shares a glance with Levi. The older man nods.

"I don't think so," Eren says.

He takes a deep breath before rolling up his sleeves to expose the scars on the backs of his arms. He slowly rotates his arms until his sliced forearms are clearly visible. The ten black stitches poke out of his skin, surrounded by old and newer cuts and scars.

Gasps, "woah"s, "yikes"s , and some choice swear words ripple through the classroom. Even Levi reacts. He stands and comes around his desk to look at one of Eren's arms.

He grabs it carefully and examines it.

"You only showed me one arm the other day," Levi says quietly. "If I had known it was this bad..."

"I didn't want you to be any more worried," Eren tells him.

The class watches as Levi hugs Eren and Eren hugs him back.

"I'm sorry," Petra says.

Everyone looks at her.

"I was jealous, and immature. Please accept my apology," she says.

"…Okay," Eren says, covering up his wrists again. "I accept your apology. And maybe one day, I'll forgive you."


	15. Another Concert, Another Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: post-concert smut

The bullying does stop. Levi and Eren have come out as an official couple. They go on dates and go to the bowling alley, while everyone else is at prom. The year finishes off normally, and Eren goes to therapy for the next few months after the incident. He graduates his junior year with a 3.5 GPA, both Mikasa and Armin with a 4.0.

They go to a Recon Core concert to celebrate that Saturday, taking seats at the bar. Mikasa and Justice are still dating. Armin has a girlfriend; a sweet girl with wavy brown hair spilling down her back. She laughs a lot, and she and Armin met at the regional science fair. Her name is Hannah. Eren stays with Levi during the concert.

Eren has become the Recon Core's backup singer, after Levi taught him how to sing well. They sing their songs, and dance together during the instrumental parts. Levi finally takes off his eye bandages for this concert, revealing to squealing fangirls from their high school who he really is.

Backstage, Eren and Levi change out of their performance clothes, gazing appreciatively at each other's bodies. Eren doesn't care that Levi's missing the lump at his crotch that most men have.

Gay, lesbian, bisexual, straight; they're just terms. Someone can be homosexual but find someone of the opposite sex attractive. Someone can be bi, but lean more one way or the other. Everyone has a type. Eren's type right now is Levi. And Levi just so happens to be male. The people that Eren likes romantically and sexually just so happen to be guys. That is what it means to be gay.

The band finishes packing up, but as the rest of the Recon Core walk out into the club, Levi and Eren stay behind. Hanji asks them about it.

"It's none of your business why, Hanji," Levi tells them.

"Alright, fine. We'll make sure no one comes back here," Hanji says, making a lewd gesture with their hands.

"Fine," Levi says while Eren blushes.

The band leaves, and Levi faces Eren again. They lock eyes.

"So, you're going to be a senior," Levi says, breaking the silence.

"I guess," Eren replies.

"That means that in a year, you'll be 18," Levi states.

"Yes."

Levi smirks slightly. "That means we'll finally be able to-"

"Yeah," Eren interrupts.

Eren always acts all flustered and embarrassed about sex when he's in front of people. Somehow, it makes Levi want to talk about it more.

"Unless you don't want to," Levi says huskily. He steps closer to Eren.

"I… I don't know," Eren claims.

"You're still a virgin, aren't you?" Levi asks.

"Well, yeah! Of course I am!" Eren exclaims.

"I thought so," Levi chuckles.

"What's so funny about that?" Eren asks indignantly.

"Nothing!"

"Then why are you laughing?" Eren inquires.

"No reason," Levi says with a smirk.

They drop the subject and settle into another silence. But this one isn't filled with awkward tension, but with more of a comfortable vibe.

"I do want you, Levi. I'm just not sure if I'm really what you want," Eren says, his heart pounding in his chest.

"Of course you are," Levi tells him. "I love you, Eren."

Eren smiles, but doesn't say anything. Levi leans closer, pressing Eren against the lockers. The cold, unyielding metal tears a gasp from Eren's lips, which Levi captures in his own.

"I… I love you too, Levi," Eren breaths when they break apart.

"If you want to, you can spend the night at my apartment, tonight," Levi offers.

"Th-thanks, Levi! I'd love to. I've just got get my parents' permission," Eren replies.

"Okay," Levi answers before kissing Eren again.

Although he doesn't show it, Levi is both anxious and aroused by Eren's acceptance. Not to mention the boy's inexperience.

They pull apart and step out into the club, holding hands. Hanji waves them over, and claims that they didn't know what to get the two, so they'll have to order their own drinks.

"Actually, we're not going to stay and party," Levi explains.

"Huh? Why not?" Hanji questions.

"Eren, did you text your parents yet?" Levi asks, ignoring Hanji's question.

"Yeah, Mom says it's fine," Eren answers.

"Great. We'll see you on Tuesday," Levi says.

"Wait, where are you going?" Mikasa asks.

Eren just smiles and waves goodbye.

The group sits at their table, puzzled. They can't help but wonder if Hanji's earlier joke had been a little too accurate. And perhaps it was.

~+~+~+~

"Shoes," Levi reminds Eren, closing the front door to his apartment.

Eren obediently pulls off his converse, setting them neatly beside the coat hanger. Levi does the same with his shoes, setting his jacket and hat on a hook.

"Tea?" Levi offers.

"I'll just have water, please," Eren replies.

"Alright," Levi says, going into the kitchen and getting a glass of water for his young lover. He gets tea for himself.

"Do you have Netflix?" Eren asks.

"Yes," Levi answers. He sets the drinks on the table and turns on the TV. He goes to Netflix, and sits beside Eren.

"What do you want to watch?" Levi asks.

"How about a romance?" Eren suggests.

"How about a comedy?" Levi counters. He hates romances. They're always too predictable and cheesy.

"Fine," Eren concedes.

Levi smirks and navigates to Netflix's comedy section. He and Eren browse through the movies until they see one they think is funny. It’s a Rom-Com, so they're compromising. It's about a young man who works in a sweets shop, and a regular female customer. Cheesy, but cute.

"That was a horrible movie," Levi states when the credits start rolling.

"Come on, it wasn't that bad!" Eren protests from his snug position under Levi's arm.

"Seriously? I knew everything that was going to happen before it did," Levi pouts.

"You did not! The son surprised you, right?" Eren asks.

"No. She totally had a mom feel about her. And she had that hairstyle," Levi says.

"'Mom feel'? And what hairstyle?" Eren asks.

"You know, the one your mother has," Levi says, gesturing to explain it.

"Right," Eren laughs, amused by Levi's hand motion for 'mom hair'.

"Tch," Levi says in response to Eren's laughter.

"Levi, your sense of humor is a little on the short side, isn't it?" Eren says with a grin.

"Shut up," Levi growls.

"I'm guessing your patience is too," Eren teases. He knows he's treading on thin ice, but he doesn't care.

"Brat," Levi hisses.

"In fact, you're kinda small all around, huh?" Eren jokes.

With this, Levi launches himself at Eren and grabs him by the chin, pining him to couch. Levi leans in close so that his mouth is next to Eren's ear.

"Shut yourself up, or I might have to do it for you," Levi tells him, adding a gentle nip to the shell of Eren's ear.

The younger boy stares wide-eyed at Levi for a moment, before grinning mischievously.

"I thought you still had girls' parts," Eren points out.

"Well yes, but that isn't quite what I meant," Levi retorts. "Besides, you never considered a strap-on?"

"What the hell is that?"

"Just what it sounds like; a strap-on dildo," Levi says with a smirk.

"Why do you have one?" Eren questions.

"I'm allowed to pleasure myself every once in a while, right?" Levi says.

"I-I suppose," Eren stutters, remembering the times he's masturbated to the thought of Levi/Mr. R.

"Hm," Levi laughs. "You haven't done anything to the thought of me, have you?"

"Wh-what?!" Eren exclaims.

"You heard me. But based on that reaction, I don't have to ask again," Levi says.

"Have you?" Eren asks hesitantly.

"Come on, I'm not that selfish," Levi jokes.

"N-no! I mean, to thoughts of me," Eren stammers.

"Yeah, I have," Levi admits.

They stare into each other's eyes for a while.

"Do you want to do anything, Eren?" Levi asks. "We don't have to."

"I-I do, Levi. I'm ready. Just… Can we take it slow?" Eren asks.

"Of course," Levi answers. "Do you have a condom?"

"Oh, uh, no," Eren says.

"Well, you're lucky that I do, then," Levi says, standing up from the couch and walking towards the dresser against the wall.

When Eren doesn't follow, Levi beckons. Eren quickly rises and joins Levi, who holds up a small, colorful square of plastic.

"Here, brat," Levi says, handing it to Eren.

"Um, I don't really know how to put it on," Eren tells Levi nervously.

"Hm. I suppose I'll just have to help you, then, won't I?" Levi smirks.

Eren smiles a little anxiously and says, "I suppose."

Levi takes Eren's hand and pulls him towards the bed. Levi pushes the younger man onto it by his shoulders, and entwines his fingers in Eren's hair, so that he can pull Eren's head back and kiss him.

During this passionate lip-lock, Levi helps Eren out of his shirt, only breaking apart when they pull it over Eren's messy brown hair. With Eren shirtless and sitting on the end of Levi's bed, the older man kneels down until he is sitting with his face level with Eren's crotch. Eren is already half-hard. Levi feels a itch at his own parts, and a feeling of lust and need that he hasn't felt in a long time washes through him.

"Levi, is something wrong?" Eren asks, noticing as Levi pauses for a moment.

"I just... Haven't felt this way in a while," Levi says, looking Eren in the eyes, stunned.

"Is that good or bad?" Eren asks anxiously. He doesn't bother to ask about the action Levi was about to start; all he cares about is that his lover is okay.

"It's... Good," Levi says, surprised.

He reaches for Eren's pants, undoing the button and zipper. Eren lifts up his hips so that Levi can pull the pants off easier. As he does so, he pulls off Eren's boxers with them, exposing the young man's stiff member. Levi gasps slightly at the size of it.

"Eren," Levi breathes.

"Yeah?" Eren asks, grinning a little.

"You're so big," Levi comments.

"Thanks," Eren replies, his grin widening.

Levi wraps his hand around Eren's shaft, hardening it the rest of the way. Then, he leans his head down to kiss the top of it, sending a shudder through the younger man.

Levi laughs.

"P-please Levi," Eren begs.

"Please, what, brat?" Levi smirks.

"L-Levi! Please!" Eren pleads.

"What?" Levi asks innocently, staring up into Eren's lustful eyes.

"Levi!" Eren yells.

"Alright, alright, but keep it down, brat. Hanji is my next-door neighbor," Levi says.

"What?!" Eren exclaims, remembering hearing the door down the hall open and shut during the movie, earlier.

Levi winces at Eren's harsh and worried tone.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I didn't know you were loud," Levi says.

Eren grumbles something about "just getting on with it".

Levi's muscles relax. He goes down on Eren, slowly allowing his teeth to graze the flesh gently, earning moans from Eren.

With every dip of his head, Levi allows a little more of Eren into his mouth. Eren is so big that Levi's jaw is already starting to ache. He feels his gag reflex reacting, but he doesn't even slow down. Eren starts thrusting his hips in time with Levi's mouth, his moans getting louder.

"I-I'm going to-" Eren says.

Levi pulls off Eren with a gross pop, finishing Eren with his hand instead. The brunette collapses backwards onto the bed, breathing heavily for a while, before sitting back up and taking Levi's hand. Eren pulls his lover onto the bed with him, straddling Levi's hips. Levi smiles, and takes off his shirt to reveal his dark tattoos along his pale skin, and those two lighter scars under his pectorals. The only proof of Levi's top surgery.

Eren starts to unbuckle Levi's belt, but the older man shakes his head and asks Eren to let Levi take off his own pants. Eren obliges, and sits beside Levi. A dark patch of hair sits in place of the penis Levi wants so badly. It's lower than Eren expected, but he's already hard again, brought to full attention by this new sight.

"Okay," Levi says.

Eren puts on the condom that had been forgotten at the end of the bed. He opens the wrapper and rolls it on like they taught in sex-ed class.

"Is this right?" he asks Levi, just in case.

"Yeah," Levi says, looking.

Eren smiles nervously, because he has no idea how to do this.

"It's okay," Levi says, seeming to read his young lover's mind. "I'll guide you."

Eren nods, and allows Levi to press him onto the bed again, this time lying down where Levi had been until a moment before. Levi positions himself above Eren's boner, guiding it into himself as he dips down, then up again, down, up, down, up, until Eren starts thrusting too. Levi smirks, and lies back down on the bed, Eren turning over too, to continue pounding into Levi. They speed up, the headboard banging against the wall.

Grunts and gasps escape them both.

"E-Eren!" Levi screams as he climaxes.

"A-ah, Levi!" Eren replies.

Soon, Eren finishes again. As he rides it out, Levi orgasms a second time, too. They fall onto the bed, panting beside each other. After a minute, they crawl under the covers, Eren having taken off the condom and tossed it onto the floor near his pants.

They fall asleep in each other's arms.


	16. Home Again, Home Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter about Eren getting home Sunday evening.

Eren opens his eyes in the morning to the smell of bacon and thoughts of Levi. 'Last night's dream was the best yet,' Eren thinks, before looking around and realizing that it actually wasn't a dream.

He slips out of the bed to realize that Levi has already cleaned up the room. Eren's clothes sit in a tidy, folded pile on top of Levi's dresser. The condom is in a waste basket beside the door. Eren makes the bed in his messy way, although he does try to make it a little bit nicer than he would at home. Eren walks over to the large, wooden dresser and pulls his clothes back on. Then he turns towards the kitchen to see Levi cooking bacon and eggs wearing nothing but boxer shorts and an apron.

"Oh good, you're awake. I'm almost done," Levi announces when he sees Eren.

"Why aren't you wearing any clothes?" Eren asks.

"Payback," Levi says with a grin.

"Fine, if you get to walk around without a shirt, so do I," Eren claims, pulling off his shirt.

Levi smirks and says, "Fine with me."

Eren takes a seat at the dining table, smiling when Levi places a plate of pancakes and eggs in front of him. They sit across from each other, eating in silence. When they finish, they sit together for a while longer, their bare backs sticking to the chairs uncomfortably.

"Last night was amazing," Eren eventually says.

"Damn better than jerking off alone," Levi comments.

"Yeah," Eren laughs.

Levi stands and takes their plates, rinsing them off before placing them in the dishwasher.

"So, I'll take you back to your house when you're ready," Levi says.

"Oh. Right," Eren replies, making move to get ready.

"What? Did you think you'd get to move in with me?" Levi smirks.

"Not yet," Eren responds.

Neither has said it, but neither can imagine a life without the other. Neither can imagine themselves with anyone else. And neither of them have any doubts anymore that they love the other.

"We'd better be getting you home, brat," Levi comments.

"Yeah."

Still, neither of them moves.

After a few more minutes, Levi stands and walks over to his dresser and puts on a fresh shirt and a pair of slim, dark grey slacks. He ties a black tie around his neck, and tosses Eren's shirt to him.

"Come on," Levi says as Eren pulls his shirt back on.

They put their shoes on and leave. Levi drives Eren home. They pull up in front of the house, and kiss before Eren gets out and steps inside, waving goodbye before Levi drives away.

~+~+~+~

"So, how did it go?" Mikasa asks, sitting in Eren's room with him after dinner. 

"What?" he asks.

"How did your little sleepover with Levi go?" she asks again.

"I-it was good," Eren stammers, hoping she won't ask about it much more.

"What did you do?" Mikasa inquires.

"N-Not much... We watched a movie," Eren says.

"The whole time?" Mikasa says skeptically.

"Come on, Mikasa! I don't have to tell you everything," Eren exclaims.

She laughs. "So you did screw."

"Keep your voice down!" Eren growls.

"Is that what Levi told you to do last night?" she taunts.

"Shut up," Eren says, blushing profusely.

Mikasa just continues to laugh as she stands from Eren's bed and leaves his room.

Eren pulls out his sketchbook and draws Levi's naked form from memory. Then he draws Levi and Eren lying together in the bed. After that, Levi's intense gaze staring up at Eren from a kneeling position.

Eren hears his door open and slams the notebook closed before turning to see his father in the doorway.

"Hi Dad," Eren says.

"Hello, son," Grisha replies. "What were you drawing?"

"Nothing!" Eren exclaims a little too quickly.

"Mhm," Grisha hums. "Anyway, sleep well son."

"Thanks, Dad. You too," Eren says nervously, watching Grisha close the door behind him as he leaves.

Eren puts his sketchbook away, and goes to bed. No school tomorrow. No anything tomorrow. Man, summer is nice. Maybe Eren will go to the pool at the YMCA? Yeah, that's a good idea. The first place he saw Levi/Mr.R after first learning about his secret identity.


	17. Celebratory Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi reveals something worth celebrating for, and invites Eren to a nice downtown restaurant.

In the morning, Eren sleeps in late. He rolls out of bed and pulls on a grey tank top and blue basketball shorts that were once Mikasa's. He makes his bed and heads downstairs to eat. Mikasa is the only other one home. Their patents left for work a while ago.

"So, how big was he?" Mikasa asks.

"What the hell?!" Eren exclaims.

"I'm just asking!" she defends.

"That's between him and me," Eren growls.

"Oh," Mikasa says. "So he was small?"

"What? No. I mean - No," Eren replies.

"Okay," she responds.

"Listen, do you want to go swimming today?" Eren asks.

"Sure," Mikasa replies. "Is Armin coming?"

"I don't know, you should text him and ask if he'd like to," Eren tells her.

Mikasa takes out her phone and sends a text. After a moment, she looks up and says that Armin week meet the siblings there in an hour.

"Sounds great," Eren says.

Maybe Eren will get to see Levi in the shower again.

~+~+~+~

They finish up their breakfast and hop into Eren's truck. That's right, he's got a big, forest green pickup truck. He got it for his 17th birthday, on March 30th. It's his baby.

Eren hops behind the wheel and feels the satisfying rumble and click of the engine as it starts up. He gently presses on the gas and they ease out of the driveway. He follows Mikasa's directions to get to the YMCA.

They pull up into the parking lot, and Eren immediately looks for Levi's car. There is a black Lexus, but Eren can't read the license plate from there. Nonetheless, he gets excited.

He and Mikasa get out of the truck and Eren locks it. They step inside the cool, air-conditioned lobby and sign in. They go to their separate locker rooms after agreeing to meet up at the pool.

Eren walks to the locker he rented, and changes into his swim trunks right there. He doesn't care that a few guys look at him discreetly. He's done that many times to others. But there's no sign of Levi, yet.

Eren walks to the pool, grabbing a towel along the way. He gets more stares as he walks, mostly by girls, but sometimes by guys. And wouldn't you stare at an attractive young man with toned muscles and an 8-pack?

Eren steps into the pool area and finds Mikasa and Armin. They greet him warmly, and put their stuff on three chairs. They go up to the diving board and each do their own trick to jump into the water. Armin dives in. Mikasa does a flip. But Eren does a regular old cannon ball, which sends a wall of water splashing through the pool. The lifeguard glares at him.

But there is a man at the end of the pool trying not to laugh. And when Eren looks closer, it's Levi!

The young man smiles, and swims over.

"Nice splash," Levi comments.

"Thanks," Eren laughs.

"Didn't expect to see you here," Levi says.

"Well, I didn't really expect to see you, either, so I guess we're even," Eren smiles.

He takes Levi's hands under the water. Armin and Mikasa swim over.

"Oh! Hello Mr. R," Armin says.

"Hello Arlet," he answers.

"So, how was last night, you love birds," Mikasa asks.

"We already talked about this," Eren whines to her.

"Did you now?" Levi asks. "How much did you tell her, Eren?"

Levi grips Eren's hands tighter.

"N-Not much," Eren states. "But I think they know the gist of it."

"I see," Levi claims. "Then it's not a problem if I do this?"

Before Eren can ask what "this" is, Levi leans forward and presses his lips to Eren's. An older woman glares at them and moves away, muttering something under her breath about "all these damn homosexuals".

Mikasa and Armin can only gape and Armin tries to look away.

Levi pulls away and says, "Thursday, 6 pm, I'll pick you up. It's a nice restaurant downtown, and you're coming over afterwards."

"Alright," Eren replies, watching Levi get out of the pool, his swimsuit clinging to his body.

"So you two had a better time than I realized," Mikasa laughs.

"I mean, yeah..." Eren admits.

The three friends swim a little more, until their fingertips and toes are as wrinkled as raisins. Then they get out of the pool and walk back to the locker rooms. They take showers and get dressed again. They leave the YMCA and head their separate ways, for now.

~+~+~+~

Thursday rolls around, and Eren is getting ready for Levi. He's wearing his only non-flannel button-up shirt, with a suit borrowed from his dad. It fits almost perfectly. The only thing is that the shoulders are a little tight. Oh well, though.

He's also got a bag packed with his toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, pajamas, spare socks, extra underwear, and clothes for tomorrow, packing his converse. For once, Eren isn't going to wear them. He's dug his only pair of loafers out of the bottom of his closet.

Soon, Levi pulls up along the curb outside, and Eren runs out and gets into the car, tossing his bag into the backseat.

"So, where are we going?" Eren asks.

"I like the suit. It looks good on you," Levi smirks.

"Levi! Answer my question!" Eren begs.

"I told you on Monday, brat," Levi says.

"But what restaurant?" Eren inquires.

"You'll see," Levi claims.

All Eren can do now is sit back and pout.


	18. An Eventful Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After dinner and Levi reveals his cause for celebration, they head to Levi's apartment to spend the night. And they start a Tumblr fan service blog.

They pull up in front of a beautiful restaurant called Igneous. There are two large windows on either side of a pair of gorgeous French doors with white trim. Through the glass the restaurant itself is visible, illuminated by bright, warm firelight. Its source is not visible from the street.

Levi gets out and rushes around his car to open Eren's door for him. Eren steps out, blushing. He takes Levi's outstretched hand and follows the older man's lead into the building.

"Reservation for Levi," he tells the woman behind the podium.

Eren notices that Levi is wearing a tuxedo, complete with a bow tie. The woman notices too, looking Levi up and down as much as she can. But the podium gets in the way below the waist, hiding the fact that Eren and Levi are holding hands.

"Right this way, sirs," she says, leading them to a two-person table against the far wall. The seats are across from each other.

She looks at them and sees their entwined fingers. An expression of surprise passes across her features for a moment, and she whispers a quiet, "oh".

Nonetheless, she seats the couple and hands them their menus, telling then about the house specials before she leaves.

"So Levi," Eren starts. "Why are we here?"

"It's a celebration," Levi says with a small smile.

"Of what?" Eren asks.

"Hmph," Levi laughs.

Eren is too struck by Levi's laugh to ask again. He's so adorable when he smiles, Eren wonders why Levi doesn't do it more often.

As Eren sits there, stunned into silence by his lover's laugh - well, frankly it was more of a quick blowing out of air than a real laugh - Levi looks over the drinks menu.

Soon the waitress comes back and asks for their drink orders. Levi asks for a glass of wine and shows his ID. Eren just gets a lemonade.

"Why so quiet all of a sudden?" Levi asks Eren when their waitress leaves.

"I've never heard you laugh before," Eren explains.

Another little "hmph", and Levi tilts his head slightly.

"Well, I'm happy," he claims.

"Why? What are we celebrating?" Eren enquires, catching his previous question.

"You'll just have to find out some time," Levi says.

"But how? When?" Eren asks.

"Maybe I can come over to your house in a few weeks, and I'll tell you" Levi suggests. He's been over a few other times after the drunken incident.

"Sure," Eren replies.

The waitress comes back and sets their drinks in front of them, along with a basket of bread. She pulls out a notepad and takes their orders. Again, Levi orders first. He asks for some fancy French dish, but Eren goes with some simpler beef sliders. She leaves.

"But the downside is that I won't be able to hang out with you, or do much of anything, for about a month," Levi says, his expression stoic once again.

"What? Levi! If you can't visit me, I'll visit you. And what about the band?" Eren asks.

"I'm sure you'd be happy to take over my part for a while," Levi claims.

"But why? What's happening?" Eren asks again, unable to be patient.

"Fine! I'll tell you, but before I do, let me say that I'd rather you found out the next time you come over to my place after I recover," Levi states.

"Recover? What are you talking about, Levi?" Eren implores.

"I'm getting bottom surgery," Levi says quietly, a smile playing across his features again.

"That's great!" Eren exclaims.

Levi nods.

"When?" Eren asks.

"Sunday," Levi says.

"Okay, so you can still sing this Saturday?"

"Yeah."

"So, I'll just be in charge of singing for the Recon Core for the month of July?" Eren asks.

At the mention of Recon Core, another waitress looks over and her eyes widen.

"Yes, until I can leave my apartment," Levi answers.

"You won't even be able to leave your apartment?!" Eren incredulously enquires.

"No. For about a week, I won't even be able to leave the hospital. So I guess you'll have to come by more often than you thought," Levi smirks.

Suddenly, the other waitress comes over.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but aren't you two part of the Recon Core?" she asks excitedly.

"Yes," Levi sighs.

"So, you and Eren are dating? I mean, it's been shipped for a while, but I just wanted to know if it is actually canon," she states.

"What's a ship in that context?" Levi asks.

"And what's canon?" Eren adds.

"A ship is when fans want two people to date. A ship becomes canon when the couple actually do start dating," she explains.

"Oh. Well, then we are canon. No one else in the band is dating each other though, to the best of my knowledge," Levi says.

The waitress squeals; she's probably about 23, and she's a little chubby. Very pretty.

"Could I have an autograph?" she asks, opening her order sheet to a blank page and pulling out a pen.

"Uh, sure," Eren says, clumsily signing his name. Levi follows suit.

"Thank you! Please enjoy your meal!" she tells them, walking away.

"Sure, and thank you," Levi answers.

Eren stops himself just before he says, "you too" to the waitress.

Their waitress comes back with their food in a minute, and asks them if they really are Levi and Eren from the Recon Core.

"Yes," Levi sighs. "And yes, we are together."

They overhear the other waitress shout into the kitchen that, "EreRi is canon!"

Both Levi and Eren chuckle.

"Well, thank you for the food, it looks delicious," Levi tells their waitress before she leaves.

"Oh! Sure!" she squeaks.

~+~+~+~

"That was an eventful night," Eren comments, sitting with Levi in his car in front of Levi's apartment building.

"Certainty," Levi smiles.

They step out of the car, and Eren starts to walk away before Levi tosses his bag to him.

"Oh, sorry," Eren says, catching his black bag.

Levi smirks, locks his car, and lets them into the building. He takes Eren up to the apartment, shoving the door open, and closing it once they're inside. Levi locks the door so quickly is almost imperceptible. It is to Eren, who's taking off his shoes.

"Do you want anything, Eren?" Levi asks.

"Oh, not right now, thanks," Eren replies.

"Not even me? One last time before the surgery?" Levi asks seductively, stepping closer to Eren.

"L-Levi!" Eren exclaims.

"What? We did it once, don't you want to go again? Or are you disgusted by me? By my vagina?" Levi growls, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"N-no! Levi! I-I'm not disgusted," Eren says.

"Then why don't you want to do it? Why not, Eren? I thought you loved me!" Levi says.

Eren runs to the door and tries to open it, only to find that it's been locked. As he fumbles with the door knob, Levi tackles him, pinning the younger man to the ground. Levi presses his lips to Eren's, the taller boy struggling to be free.

"I-I love you, Levi. I just don't want to do it like this," Eren claims.

Levi seems to awaken from a trance, and he stumbles away from Eren.

"I-Im so sorry," he stammers, backing against his sofa. "I… I don't know..."

"It's alright," Eren says, cautiously standing up.

A knock on the door surprises them both.

"Would you two at least try to keep it down?" Hanji yells through thick door. "Some people have work to do. Unless you two would like to be my next experiment; I've always been curious about trans sex."

"Shut up, Hanji," Levi yells back, "it's not like that!"

"Sure, and it wasn't like that the night you two left early after the concert, either. I have ears, you know!" Hanji claims.

"I know you do. It's the empty space in between that I'm worried about," Levi answers.

Hanji laughs, but walks away. The couple hears Hanji's door open and slam shut, and breath a sigh of relief.

"So, what do you say we find out what EreRi is?" Levi suggests, standing and walking over to his desk and opening his laptop as though hadn't just tried to rape Eren, who is more than a little shaky.

"U-um, sure," he replies, following Levi but keeping his distance.

"EreRi," Levi says slowly as he types the word into his computer's search engine.

The website loads, and Levi reads the definition aloud.

"'The romantic relationship between Eren Jaeger and Levi from the Recon Core,'" Levi says. "Should we look at the images?"

"Why not?" Eren replies.

Levi clicks on the link. The first image is drawn chibi-style, and is actually pretty cute. The second image is hardly as innocent, as it depicts Levi fingering Eren. The third image is of Eren pinning Levi to a wall and kissing him.

"They've got it backwards," Levi grumbles.

"Yup, especially considering what you just did earlier," Eren says.

"Right, sorry," the older man replies, clicking the arrow to the next image, which appears to be Levi peeking under a skirt Eren is wearing.

"Levi, we should start a Tumblr fan service account," Eren suggests.

Tumblr is the only social media site that actually appeals to him, and he only knows what fan service is because of kids at school.

"What are both of those?" Levi asks.

"Can I borrow your computer for a minute?" Eren asks, holding out his hands.

"Fine," Levi says, handing it over.

Eren types in the Tumblr web address and the blue screen comes up. He clicks to create an account, and Levi offers his email for it. They take a picture of themselves kissing as their profile picture with Levi's web camera. They put a picture of the band that Levi had on his computer as the background.

"There," Eren says, smiling at their handiwork. "Now we write a description."

He clicks the section and pauses before typing.

"Yeah, bishes. We're the real deal. EreRi is 'cannon,' as explained to us by our waitress at dinner tonight," Eren writes.

"Hm, sounds too informal," Levi criticizes.

"Levi, it's social media. Formal doesn't exist here," Eren says.

"Fine."

They set up their Tumblr account a bit more, posting some more pictures, including more than one of them kissing. They learn to navigate the website, and they learn about tags. They already have two followers by the time they get off and decide to look at more ereri pics.

"Damn," Levi mutters under his breathe, staring at the screen.

It's too graphic to describe, but let's just say it's giving the real Eren one hell of a boner.

"Someone's excited," Levi mutters, glancing down at Eren's crotch.

"Don't say that you aren't, too," Eren retorts.

"I never said who it was, I just said that someone is excited," Levi defends.

"Yeah, well... Wait, what?" Eren starts.

"I'm really into you, Eren. I think I love you," Levi says.

Both of them develop a light pink tint to their cheeks.

"Do you have a condom?" Eren asks quietly.

"Yes, actually," Levi says, striding over to his dresser and holding up another brightly colored piece of plastic.

"Great," Eren smiles.

Levi takes Eren's hand and they begin.

~+~+~+~

After both of them have climaxed twice, they lie together on Levi's bed, just like they did the first time. Levi stands up and walks over to a door on the other side of the kitchen that Eren hadn’t noticed before. Eren decides to follow his boyfriend into what turns out to be a bathroom. Levi hands him a towel from a thin closet.

"Here, brat," Levi smirks.

Eren places the towel on the counter. Levi sets his beside it. The older man turns on the water and the couple steps beneath the steady stream of steaming water. They use Levi's soap and wash it off, taking turns under the water.

After they're both clean, they pick up their towels and dry off, walking out of the bathroom with them wrapped around their waists. Eren dries his hair with another towel while Levi does his with a powerful hair dryer. He dries it slicked back, and then he combs his bangs forward so that they fall into place, parted perfectly on his forehead. Eren takes the opportunity of Levi drying his hair in nothing but a towel (exposing his muscular chest with the scars under the pectorals and his beautiful tattoos standing out vibrantly) to take a picture. He posts it on Tumblr with the caption, "Baechou and I took a shower."

"Eren, what the hell did you just do?" Levi growls, glancing at the accused out of the corner of his eye while continuing to dry his hair.

"Nothing!" Eren lies.

"Brat, I swear, if you took a picture, I'll kill you," Levi claims.

"No you wouldn't," Eren replies.

"Why wouldn't I?" Levi counters.

"Because we love each other," Eren says with a sweet smile.

"Fine. Besides, the body will have to be taken care of," Levi smirks.

"Levi!"

"It's just a fact!" he states. "But did you?"

"Yes. And it's on Tumblr," Eren admits.

"I thought it might be," Levi claims. "I'm fine with you posting pictures of me naked down to the waist if you're okay with me doing it to you."

"Alright!" Eren says, excited for this opportunity.

"But don't give away where my apartment is, alright? I don't need fangirls stalking me any more than they already do," Levi asks.

"Sure thing, Levi," Eren laughs.

"Tch. Brat. I'm serious," Levi grumbles.

"I know you are, babe," Eren replies, hugging Levi from behind and kissing the older man's cheek.


	19. A Discussion With Mom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi drops Eren off to be interrogated by his mother.

After they are done in the bathroom, Eren goes over to his backpack and pulls on his pajamas.

"Oi," Levi says, "you don't have to wear a shirt as long as we're the only two around."

"Okay," Eren responds, pulling it off.

Now he's only wearing baggy plaid boxer shorts. Levi changes into a pair of boxer briefs from his dresser. They slip into the large bed together, again. Levi turns towards the wall, and Eren curls his body around the older man. They fall asleep, Eren's arm held under Levi's head by the older man's hand, Eren's other hand resting on Levi's hip.

In the morning, Eren wakes up to the click of a phone camera. Levi's taking a picture of him. And now he's posting it on Tumblr. Great.

"Le-ah-vi," Eren yawns.

"Good morning, brat," Levi says with a smirk.

"Levi, what are you doing?" Eren asks groggily.

"Posting a half-naked picture of you asleep in my bed, on Tumblr," Levi answers.

Eren yawns again. "Wh-ah-t's for breakfast?"

"Cereal. It's in the cupboard," Levi states.

"Oh. Okay." Eren walks to kitchen and pulls out a bowl, a box of cereal, and a carton of milk. He makes himself a bowl of cereal and walks over to stand beside Levi to browse Tumblr.

"14 followers overnight," Eren notices.

"Yeah."

"Cool. Can I see all the pictures we've posted?" Eren asks.

"Sure." Levi clicks on their profile, sending them to their page. On it are multiple pictures sneakily taken by both of them of the other. Almost of them have at least five likes.

"Hey, we're famous, Levi!" Eren laughs.

"I guess so," Levi replies.

They notice they have a message, so they click it.

"If you two really are Levi and Eren, can you show a picture of you guys in your concert outfits?" it reads.

Levi smirks, and types back, "Sure. Just let us go change."

He pulls Eren away by the neck, and goes to his closet. He pulls on his performance clothes. When Eren mentions that he doesn't have his, Levi tosses a spare outfit to him.

"They could be a little small, but we'll see," Levi says.

Eren puts them on, taking a while with the strap system. Levi comes over and helps him. They sit together in Levi's office chair, Eren on Levi's lap. Just before Levi clicks the button to take the picture, he pulls Eren down by the collar, kissing him on the mouth. The picture turns out surprisingly well.

They post it, along with a screenshot of the ask. Levi adds a caption at the bottom about how Eren doesn't have his performance outfit right now, so he's borrowing of Levi's. It quickly gets likes and they get more followers as it gets reblogged like crazy. Soon, they've got even more asks coming in.

They try to complete them the best they can, until Eren's finished his cereal and it's time for him to go home.

"Go get dressed, brat. We've got to get you home," Levi says.

"Alright," Eren reluctantly answers, taking off Levi's clothes - good God, they smell like him - and pulling on his own.

Levi gets changed, too, carefully folding the performance outfits, and putting them away again.

"Let's go," Levi orders, pulling on his shoes. Eren does the same, pulling his black converse from his bag and replacing their spot with the loafers from last night.

They leave the apartment, locking the door behind them. Then, the couple goes downstairs and gets into Levi's car. Levi drives them to Eren's house. They kiss again before Eren walks into his house, waving goodbye to Levi.

Once inside, he drops his bag and greets Mikasa and his Mom, who are sitting on the couch.

"So, how was it?" Mikasa asks.

"Great," Eren replies, thinking about last night.

"The restaurant or the sex?" Carla asks.

"Mom!" Eren exclaims.

"Come on, Eren. Just answer my question," she says.

"I-I guess both," Eren stammers.

"Did you two use protection?" Carla enquires.

"Mom! Yes, but can we please not talk about this?" Eren says.

The younger man doesn't think it would be the most considerate thing to do to tell them about the fact that Levi is trans.

"Fine. Would you rather we talked about it around your father?" Carla asks.

"No!" Eren says.

"Was this your first time?" Mikasa asks.

"Yes! Well, Levi was my first time, and it was at his apartment," Eren reluctantly admits.

"So when was the first time?" Carla asks.

"That first Saturday night after school ended," Mikasa says. "Wasn't it?"

"What? How'd you know that?!" Eren cries.

"Come on, Eren. You two weren't exactly subtle. Not to mention the fact that Hanji and I have been texting," the dark-haired girl says.

Eren has an expression of complete betrayal and fear in his eyes.

"Have there been any other times?" Carla asks, her expression completely calm.

"No, Mom," Eren says. "But I love Levi, and he'd never hurt me."

"Oh, I'm not worried about your relationship with him. I'm just thinking about the fact that you should get some condoms so that you don't have to keep using Levi's," she replies.

Both Mikasa and Eren stare at her, now, incredulous.

"You know, you probably should both get some. Just in case. I'll ask your father to pick some up on his way home," Carla says, picking up her phone.

Her fingers flick across the thin screen, sending Mikasa and Eren's father a text.

"Eren, what size are you?" Carla asks after receiving a reply from their Dad.

"Th-the ones Levi gives me... Are large, but... I don't really know," Eren stammers, his face turning a bright crimson.

Mikasa's eyes widen slightly, and Carla chuckles.

Their father comes home, tossing a plastic bag from the pharmacy onto the table beside the front door.

"I demand to know why our children require condoms," he bellows.

"They just do," Carla says, coming out of the kitchen to greet him with a smile. "It's time. Hello, honey. How was your day?"

"It was fine," he says, taking off his coat and shoes. "Busy, and long."

Mikasa and Eren timidly come downstairs.

"Why do you two need condoms?" Grisha asks them.

"Mom seems to think I need them," Mikasa answers.

"And what about you, Eren? Does this have anything to do with Levi?" he asks.

"Um, yeah," Eren mumbles.

"What? I didn't hear you."

"Yes," Eren says, slightly louder and finally looking his father in the eye.

"…Well, at least you're being safe about it," Grisha says, after a moment of uncomfortable silence.

"Yeah," Eren replies, his eyes shifting to the ground again. "I'll just take them and go back upstairs."

He takes the small dark grey box out of the plastic bag and sprints upstairs to his room. Once he's sitting on his desk chair, he picks up his phone, setting the box down on his desk.

Text From: Eren  
My parents gt me condoms

Text From: Levi  
Why?

Text From: Eren   
They figured it out btween us

Text From: Levi   
They were bound to eventually. At least they're accepting of it.

Text From: Eren   
Yeah it could so much wors

When he presses send on his phone after this message, he looks at the scars on his wrists from the day he cut a little too deep. Not once has he cut since then.

Text From: Eren   
I love u

Text From: Levi   
I love you too, brat. It's everything alright?

Text From: Eren   
Can we talk after Saturday's concert?

Text From: Levi   
Of course. I'll take you to my place.

Text From: Eren   
Thnks

Eren draws another picture before bed, of him and Levi from last night, but in it, Levi has a penis, too. Eren takes a picture of it with his phone and posts it on the Tumblr page. It rapidly gets liked and frantically reblogged with all sorts of comments, ranging from, "Oh my god, it's true!" to "Um… Apparently, Eren Jaeger drew this..."

It just makes both Levi and Eren laugh.


	20. Little Short One-Shot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi wants to talk to Eren.

Saturday rolls around, and Eren goes to the concert as always with Levi, but this time the young man has a condom in his back pocket.

They perform one of their best shows yet, to a jam-packed club. Just before the lights dim and the curtain closes, Levi grabs Eren by the waist and pulls the taller man into a deep and lasting kiss that Eren just leans into. The crowd shrieks so loudly that Hanji worries about the thick lenses in their glasses.

"My place?" Levi offers, after he and Eren change out of their performance clothes and helping take down set.

"Yeah," Eren answers.

"I'm staying out late tonight, so you two better be done by the time I get home," Hanji jokes.

Everyone laughs. Even Levi.

"We make no promises," he answers with a smirk.

Levi takes Eren's hand, and they leave. They drive to Levi's apartment, and calmly take off their shoes after they close the front door behind then.

"So your parents bought you condoms?" Levi inquires.

"Yeah," Eren replies, pulling the one from his back pocket as proof.

"Do you want to test one of them?" Levi asks, smirking slightly.

"Actually, no. I liked the last time enough for it to be my last chance with a biological female," the young brunette answers.

"Really? So you just wanted to talk?" Levi inquires.

"Yeah, if you don't mind," Eren says.

"No, it's okay. What do you want to talk about?"

"Us. Our future. What we can be together," Eren says. "Levi, I know that I'm less than experienced when it comes to love, but I've never felt more confused by my feelings in my life. Whenever you're gone, I worry about you and wonder what you're doing. I never want to leave your side."

"Eren-"

"And not only that, but... You're always so nice and considerate. I may just be short-sighted, but I can only imagine myself with you. Levi, it's been about six months, but I want to be yours forever," Eren says.

Levi stands, staring at Eren, the older man's jaw slightly dropped. He murmurs Eren's name again before coming over to him and embracing him.

"Eren Jaeger, after high school, and if you still love me as much as I love you, will you... Will you marry me?" Levi asks.

Eren's emerald eyes water slightly.

"Yes! Oh, Levi, yes!" he cries, lowering his face into Levi's shoulder.

Levi pulls away slightly and takes Eren by the chin. He gazes into the younger man's eyes. Suddenly, his hold on Eren's chin tightens, and he pulls Eren into a deep kiss, lifting his own lips to meet Eren's.

They break apart and bump noses. The two start laughing so hard that their eyes water even more.


	21. A Year Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time skip: one year.

Eren graduates his senior year and is accepted to his second choice college. Today, he heads over to Levi's apartment after the last day of high school ends. Since the surgery, Levi has seemed much happier with himself and the world. He's also said that he's enjoyed their sex more, even though he can't feel it quite as well.

Eren arrives at Levi's apartment, unlocking the door with his own key when he gets there. They moved in together after Eren turned 18 last March.

"Levi!" Eren calls, opening the door and taking off his shoes.

"Hey there, brat," Levi smiles from the kitchen.

The only reason why Eren and Levi hadn't come home together today was because Eren had been dragged along to an all-senior party by Mikasa and Armin. He left early though, because Levi had sent him a text telling him to, "Get your ass home, brat. I've got a surprise for you."

And boy is this one hell of a surprise.

Levi is standing in the kitchen wearing nothing but forest green boxer briefs that complement his skin tone and the black apron that Eren has begun to associate with good things.

"Woah," Eren gasps lowly, blood rushing south as his eyes drink in every dip and shadow of Levi's muscular body that's visible around the apron. He's been presented this sight many times, but Eren never thinks he'll get tired of it.

"Better than the party?" Levi asks.

"Better than the party. But you know what'd make it even better?" Eren replies.

"Waffles?" Levi asks.

"…Yes, but I meant you, Levi," Eren states.

"Oh, do you?" Levi teases. "How about you prove it?"

"Are you really still going to make me fucking beg?" Eren asks, exasperated.

"I may have tried to force you once, but I'm never going to again," Levi answers.

"Alright. Thank you. But come on, Levi. Every time, you make me beg for it," Eren says.

"Eren," Levi says, untying the apron and allowing it to drop to the floor.

"Oh fuck," Eren mutters, staring.

"'Oh fuck' what?" Levi teases, pulling the band on his underwear so that it snaps back against his hip and stepping towards Eren.

"Fuck me now," Eren murmurs.

"Sorry babe, I can't hear you," Levi purrs.

"Levi! Please!" Eren begs, closing the distance between himself and Levi.

Levi holds Eren close to him by the hips, feeling the taller man's erection digging into Levi's lower abdomen.

"Eren," Levi whispers seductively in the boy's ear.

"Levi," Eren gasps, feeling the older man's hand rubbing against the swollen muscle at Eren's crotch.

"Like that, brat?" Levi growls.

"Yes, Levi. Please," Eren says weakly.

"Do you want something?" Levi asks.

"You," Eren mumbles.

"What about me?"

"I… I want you," Eren moans as Levi grinds his hips particularly hard into Eren.

The tall boy feels his knees buckle against something, and he falls backwards onto the bed. When they got near it, he doesn't know, but they're here now.

"Do you, now?" Levi asks, his voice pitching high on "do".

"Yes, Levi," Eren moans.

Levi leans over Eren, and together, they take off Eren's clothes. Soon, they're both lying on the bed, Levi on top of Eren, in nothing but their underwear. Levi's scars show up paler than the rest of his skin, his tattoos dark on an ivory background.

From the beside table, Levi pulls out a condom for each of them, and a bottle of lube that they bought together just after Levi recovered from the surgery.

"I can't say no to a request like that," Levi claims, smirking. "My beautiful brat."

"My grumpy Heichou," Eren returns.

"Hmph," Levi laughs. "So I'm still higher ranking, aren't I, my little cadet?"

"Always."

"I like the sound of that."

They pull off their underwear. Levi's small metoidioplasty penis arises. It may be almost too small for him to penetrate Eren with it, but Levi's so much more proud of it than he was of his vagina. And that's all Eren needs.

The younger brunette twists around so that he's on top of Levi once again. He rolls on a condom and slips a little bit of lube onto his fingers, rubbing it around a little too warm it up before slowly placing them around Levi's puckered entrance and penetrating him, earning a gasp.

"Eren!" Levi breathes.

"Sh, Levi," Eren says.

After a little while, he pulls out the the fingers he had slowly added, and lines himself up. He plunges down and knows he isn't going to last very long, tonight. And he doesn't. Then it's Levi's turn.

They take a shower after each cumming twice. They dry off and go bed, falling asleep in each other's arms, just like every night. But somehow, things feel different, for some reason. Maybe because school is out? Maybe because Eren is going off to college at the end of the summer?


	22. Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short wedding. Another time jump.

Mid-June. The same time of year that Levi first proposed to Eren, five years ago. Both of them are putting the final touches to their outfits before walking down the aisle together. Armin straightens Eren's bow tie while Mikasa secures the blindfold Eren has agreed to wear. Levi will be wearing one, too. They will both be led up the aisle, and wait for Mikasa to give the signal. When she does, they'll remove the blindfolds and get their first glimpse of each other in the whole day, both of them in their tuxedos.

The time finally comes, and Armin leads Eren from the small back room and down the aisle. He can hear the shuffle of feet as Levi walks ahead of them. Armin walks away and takes his seat once he's led Eren to stand beside Levi at the pedestal in the front of the Chapel. Mikasa allows them to remove their blindfolds, and they gasp when they see each other.

"Levi," Eren says quietly.

"Eren."

The ceremony begins. Afterwards, they walk out, holding hands and enjoying the feel of the new rings on their left hands. They're married. They're finally fucking married. They get to be each other's, forever.

"My Levi," Eren calls him.

"My Eren," Levi responds.

After the reception (at which both Levi and Eren get very drunk) they head to their honeymoon hotel. They celebrate quite energetically and loudly, and fall asleep shortly afterwards.


	23. Military

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter. I'm sorry these last three have been so short. But I hope the feels in this one make it worth it.

Around four in the morning, Levi wakes to a phone call from Erwin. It's been two years since Eren and Levi got married.

"Erwin, you'd better have a damn good reason to call me so fucking early in the morning," Levi growls quietly, answering the phone but trying not to wake Eren.

"Levi, we've got new orders. Top secret mission. Four months. That's all I can tell you, for now. You know the meeting place. Be there by noon, today. Hurry," Erwin orders. "These come from the top."

"Fuck," Levi says, hanging up and waking Eren.

"What is it?" Eren asks blearily, rubbing his eyes.

"I… I've got to go on another mission," Levi explains. "It will take about four months. I'll try to stay in contact with you as much as I can, but the military is unreliable, as exhibited by their sudden need for me after so many years."

"No. No!" Eren cries. "You can't leave, not so suddenly or with so little information! You have a friends, Levi! You have me! You can't go. They can't make you."

"Sadly, they can, Eren. They wouldn't want me unless there is something only I can do. I love you Eren, but I have to follow my orders. I'll be back before you know it, safe and sound," Levi claims. He's trying so hard to sound reassuring, but Eren can hear a tinge of uncertainty and nervousness underlying his lover's usually steady and almost bored voice.

"Well, if it's all I can do, I'll wait here for you, Levi. I'll wait until you get home, and I'll give you one hell of a welcome back present. I love you, and don't you dare forget about this ring on your finger for a moment while you're out there," Eren orders, holding Levi's hand up to point it out.

"I love you, Eren. I'll see you when I return."

And with that, Levi gets up and packs a suitcase full of all things he will need. Clothes, toiletries, books, his computer, and most importantly to Levi, a painting of him and Eren sitting together facing a sunset, by Eren.

But Levi doesn't return in four months. Instead, it takes seven. After the third, worry began to gnaw at Eren. What if something had happened? What if Levi was hurt and no one knew? Then he'd get a new letter, and he'd feel better.

During the fourth month, Eren learns a little bit more about Levi's gruesome task of killing off more Titan gang members, and why it's taking them so long to come home.

The fifth and sixth month, Eren descends into a state of depression, and barely stops himself from picking up cutting again, but when the seventh month rolls around and Eren learns that Levi will be coming home in three weeks, he can't help but be excited. He spends the next four days cleaning up the apartment to Levi's standards for his arrival.

The day finally arrives, and Eren greets Levi at the airport, the dark-haired man still in his uniform. As soon as Eren sees Levi walk out into the baggage claim area, he sprints over and tackles Levi to the ground, sobbing.

"You're home, you're finally home," Eren cries.

A few curious bystanders glance at them, but only smile warmly at the couple.

Levi holds Eren and says that he is home. He finally fucking is. The way he says it sounds almost as if Levi is also trying to convince himself, not just Eren.

"And I always will be home, as long as I'm with you, my brat," Levi says, staring into Eren's vibrant green eyes.

Eren sobs again and burrows into Levi's shoulder. They grab Levi's bags and go home. Eren took the day off work, and they spend the next week alone together, catching up.


End file.
